


I Wanna Stay By You Forever

by circusgirlc



Series: Baby Don't Go [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-05-21 20:38:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14922441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/circusgirlc/pseuds/circusgirlc
Summary: Kyungsoo refuses to believe that his happiness is dependent on having people around, he can cope perfectly well without Chanyeol around thank you very much. But, maybe he doesn’t like only making meals for one, and it’s harder to sleep at night when he’s in the house alone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who read part 1 of this series (I Keep Falling For You), you'll know I said at the end that I was writing a Chensoo fic that would link into it. I know it's been quite a while since but here it is, I haven't finished writing the fic so expect slower updates but I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of summer.
> 
> If you haven't yet read I Keep Falling For You, I suggest you do before reading this fic in order to understand it fully.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!

Kyungsoo refuses to believe that his happiness is dependent on having people around, he can cope perfectly well without Chanyeol around thank you very much. But, maybe he doesn’t like only making meals for one, and it’s harder to sleep at night when he’s in the house alone.

His happiness isn't dependent on having people around, but he's still not getting anywhere with this essay, and maybe it's because Chanyeol isn't there working next to him. So, he reluctantly gives in to his need to have company as he heads to the university library one day. It's not like he hasn't been to the library before, he uses it for research often, but he's never felt the need to write his essays there.

He finds a table near the back of the library, he wants people around but he doesn't want to be disturbed, and starts taking out his laptop and notes from his bag. Although he doesn't want to admit it, writing the essay comes a lot easier with the soft sound of others typing on their laptops and the general vibe of productivity the library gives off. 

He's a few paragraphs in and fully focused when he hears a hushed voice say, "Kyungsoo?"

A little irritated at being disturbed, he moves his gaze off his screen towards the voice, an unimpressed look on his face. It morphs into a slightly surprised look however when his eyes land on Jongdae standing in front of him. 

He doesn't miss how tired Jongdae looks as he says, "Jongdae! I knew you were back but I didn't think you'd be coming back to University yet."

Jongdae smiles as he says, "Yeah well, if I took any longer off university, they'd kick me off the course. Can I sit?"

Kyungsoo weighs up the pro's and con's in his head of letting Jongdae join him, but decides that method is hardly relevant right now. He nods to Jongdae as he says, "Sure, but I really need to get this essay done so I won't be able to chat much."

Jongdae takes a seat, grinning at Kyungsoo as he pulls his own laptop out and says, "That's no problem, I have work to do too." 

He winks at Kyungsoo before getting started on his work, and Kyungsoo decides to ignore that he'd stared at Jongdae longer than intended.

Although he was worried Jongdae would be a distraction, Kyungsoo works very well with Jongdae as company. Aside from the few glances he shoots Jongdae's way, he's fully focused and manages to finish his essay in a few hours. 

As he's going back through his essay to edit it, he hears Jongdae say, "How's the essay coming along?"

Kyungsoo doesn't look away from the screen as he clicks save, voice hushed as he responds, "I've finished it, I can probably do the editing at home."

They fall back into a comfortable silence until Kyungsoo starts packing his notes and laptop away. His eyes trail over to Jongdae who's smiling at him and he quirks an eyebrow as if to say, 'what?'

Jongdae grins at the reaction, starting to pack away his own things as he says, "Fancy going for coffee now? Y'know, so we can actually hang out?"

Kyungsoo's a little taken back by the offer considering he and Jongdae aren't exactly close, but he can't say he's opposed to the idea. Jongdae may be a flirt but he's not bad company, they actually get along pretty well Kyungsoo has found.

So, he nods in response, waiting for Jongdae to finish packing up his things before following him out to the campus cafe.

The walk there is short and they don't speak much, but Kyungsoo finds that it's not uncomfortable. He lets Jongdae take the lead, trailing slightly behind him towards the cafe, and any conversation they have is started by Jongdae.

Once they reach the cafe, ordering their drinks and paying for themselves, they find a table further away from the other students. It seems that despite Jongdae's loud, outgoing nature, he and Kyungsoo have a mutual want to have some space.

Once seated and sipping at their drinks silently, Kyungsoo figures he may as well start a conversation. He plays with the handle of his mug as he asks, "Was it weird to be back home with your family? You haven't been there since Christmas, right?"

Jongdae smiles, amusement twinkling in his eyes at the fact that Kyungsoo is attempting to fill the silence between them. He lets out a little laugh before responding, "I suppose it was actually. I'm so used to just living with Baekhyun now that coming home to my family felt slightly restricting."

Kyungsoo nods, smiling slightly at Jongdae as he says, "I've been wondering if Chanyeol's going to end up feeling the same way. He loves his parents a lot but I think he's used to having me around."

A sympathetic look crosses Jongdae's face at the mention of Chanyeol, leaning slightly closer as he softly says, "How is Chanyeol holding up?"

Kyungsoo studies Jongdae's face for a moment before saying, "You talked to Baekhyun, didn't you?"

Jongdae frowns as he nods, voice questioning as he says, "I did, but I'm not fully sure what happened. Baekhyun said he'd upset Chanyeol and he vaguely mentioned a kiss, but he's still being pretty blunt about it."

Kyungsoo lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He knows it's not his story to tell, but he'd rather Jongdae know the real facts, especially because he gets the feeling that the two of them may need to bridge the gap between their fighting friends.

He leans a little closer to Jongdae, voice hushed as he says, "I'll tell you the full story, but I don't want to hear you spreading it around. I don't want Chanyeol getting anymore hurt."

Jongdae opens his mouth, face brightening as if he's about to make a funny comment. He seems to decide against it when he meets Kyungsoo's eyes, mouth closing and his head nodding in agreement.

Kyungsoo's gaze trails around the cafe, making sure no one is close enough to overhear, before it returns to Jongdae. His voice drops to a hushed tone again as he says, "They did kiss. Your best friend asked Chanyeol over because he felt lonely and then he flirted with Chanyeol."

He pauses to gauge Jongdae's reaction, the other listening intently, before continuing, "He literally straddled him Jongdae, you can't blame Chanyeol for giving in and kissing him. Anyway, Chanyeol confessed to Baekhyun afterwards and Baekhyun, well, Baekhyun told him he was crazy and acted like Chanyeol had burned him."

Kyungsoo watches as Jongdae's expression turns more and more grim with each word, his lips turning down into a deep frown. When Kyungsoo finishes his explanation, Jongdae's clearly not happy.

For the first time ever, Kyungsoo sees Jongdae struggle for words, eyes dropping to Kyungsoo's mug as he finally says, "I - How was Chanyeol? What happened after Baek rejected him?"

Kyungsoo frowns at the memory of that night, still not over how upsetting it was to see his best friend like that. He runs a hand through his hair again before responding, "He left your flat. The idiot walked home in the rain and turned up at our house soaking wet and shivering. I got him inside and he instantly collapsed to the floor sobbing." 

Kyungsoo doesn't realise how much he's frowning until Jongdae lightly squeezes his arm and says, "Hey, it's okay. I'm so sorry that happened, it must have been scary to see him like that."

Kyungsoo recoils from his touch a little, not missing the slight frown that flits across Jongdae's face when he reacts this way. It's not like he dislikes Jongdae but he's not that comfortable with affection from most people. 

Shaking his head to bring his focus back to the conversation, he nods slightly and says, "I don't know if things are going to get better between them again, Jongdae. I've never seen Chanyeol that upset before, he looked like he'd truly given up on all hope he had."

Jongdae sighs loudly, running a hand through his hair similarly to Kyungsoo. He meets Kyungsoo's gaze for only a second as he says, "I think I need to talk to my best friend, tell him he's an idiot whilst smothering him with love."

Kyungsoo snorts out a laugh at this, shaking his head amusedly as he says, "I'm not sure those things go together."

Jongdae's usually bright smile returns as he says, "Sure they do, you do it to Chanyeol all of the time."

Kyungsoo scoffs, voice raising slightly as he insists, "I do not smother Chanyeol with love!"

Jongdae laughs loudly, clearly enjoying the reactions he gets from Kyungsoo. He raises his voice slightly too as he responds, "Of course you do, you're always mothering him and letting him be all cuddly with you."

Kyungsoo frowns, knowing that Jongdae's right but not wanting to admit that to him. Instead he pokes at Jongdae's chest and says, "Yeah? Well we're hardly as bad as you and Baekhyun."

Jongdae smirks, knowing he's won as he fires back, "The difference being that Baekhyun and I are happy to admit we're like that, we're not afraid of other people's judgement."

Kyungsoo frowns, but his eyes are still filled with amusement, voice light as he says, "Ouch, you really know how to stab someone and twist the knife."

Jongdae laughs loudly, the tiredness he'd been carrying around since Kyungsoo had seen him in the library disappearing finally. Kyungsoo finds himself smiling at the fact, eventually letting himself chuckle along with Jongdae.

Moments later however, Jongdae's phone vibrates and the tiredness returns. He shoots Kyungsoo an apologetic look before answering his phone and lifting it to his ear.

Kyungsoo understands when Jongdae turns away from him, voice hushed, but that doesn't stop him worrying. It's strange seeing Jongdae acting so subdued when he's usually so hyperactive, so loud. It's so unlike him and Kyungsoo knows it's not his place to find out what's wrong, but there's something in him that just wants to help.

Maybe it's because Chanyeol's not around and he's missing the feeling of helping someone that he usually gets with Chanyeol daily. It's possibly a little selfish but he gets the feeling Jongdae needs a shoulder to lean on anyway. When Jongdae hangs up the phone, meeting Kyungsoo's gaze with a half hearted smile, Kyungsoo decides that now isn't the time to ask. He's not close to Jongdae and he doesn't want to make him feel like he's on the spot.

Instead, he opts for a soft smile back and a light pat on Jongdae's arm, a gesture of support. Jongdae attempts to make his smile more genuine as he says, "I know I invited you out for coffee and we haven't talked much, but I think I need to go back to my flat." 

Kyungsoo nods quickly, smiling back as he says, "Of course, I understand, thank you for inviting me anyway."

Standing and grabbing his bag, Jongdae says, "We should meet up again though, I'm sure the house is quiet without Chanyeol."

Kyungsoo finds himself wondering if he's been that transparent about how much he misses having someone else in the house, maybe he's not as great at hiding his feelings as he thought. 

Bringing himself out of his head so that he doesn't leave Jongdae hanging, he smiles up at him and responds, "Yeah, of course. You and Baekhyun should come over for a meal one night, I get the feeling Baek's not been eating well since Chanyeol left."

Jongdae agrees, grinning at Kyungsoo as he loudly says goodbye and turns to walk away. Kyungsoo watches him leave, noticing the tenseness in Jongdae's shoulders even if he had attempted to seem his normal self when saying goodbye.

Finishing off his drink, Kyungsoo makes a move to head home himself. He finds it quite peculiar how his thoughts keep drifting back to how different Jongdae had seemed, his mind mainly focusing on it as he makes the trek back home. It's not an obvious change, most people probably won't notice something is wrong with Jongdae.

Kyungsoo's not even close to Jongdae, he's pretty sure today was the first time he's hung out with Jongdae without Baekhyun or Chanyeol around. Kyungsoo is observant however, he's always been able to tell when something's off with someone, a skill that's helped him a lot in his years of being friends with Chanyeol. So, it's really no surprise to him that he can spot the change in Jongdae instantly, but it's surprising how much he seems to care about it, not usually one to invest in people he's not close to.

He's considering not following up on his invite to Jongdae and Baekhyun, but after 30 minutes in his too quiet house, he gives in. Finding Jongdae's number on his phone, he sends a brief text inviting him and Baekhyun over for dinner on Friday. 

He shoves his phone to the other side of the couch after that, deciding to focus his thoughts on editing his essay instead. It's frustrating how a usual 10-minute task takes him half an hour, he's just not used to working in the house alone.

Maybe he is missing Chanyeol a lot, their weekly phone calls his current only thing to look forward to each week. He wishes spending time with someone today hadn't made him feel so much better, he's never enjoyed relying on people. But, if being sociable outside of his usual friendship group (Chanyeol, and a reintroduced addition of Sehun) is what he needs to keep his grades up, then he supposes he can force himself to do so.

He only receives a text back from Jongdae as he's climbing into bed, getting comfortable before picking up his phone from his bedside table. The text reads, 'We'd love to, see you Friday', and Kyungsoo isn't impressed with the little flutter of excitement he feels at the idea of having people in the house again. 

It's only been two weeks since Chanyeol left, he shouldn't be feeling so stupidly lonely without him, he's a mature adult for God sake. He finds himself repeating in his mind that he doesn't need to rely on people to be happy as he drifts off to sleep, his evening's ending earlier now that he doesn't have a best friend to keep him awake with stupid theory's about aliens and the government.

 

* * *

Friday comes around quicker than the previous weeks now that Kyungsoo has something other than his calls with Chanyeol to look forward to. He finds he's quite excited to have someone else to test his culinary experiments (as Chanyeol had coined them) on, he's always improved with an outsiders opinion. 

He considers pre-making the meal just to heat it up when Baekhyun and Jongdae come round so that he isn't a rude host who just stays in the kitchen the whole time. He much prefers to give people fresh meals, however, so he forces himself to accept the idea of allowing them to hang out in the kitchen whilst he cooks, even if he knows he'll regret.

He's adamant he's not excited as it gets closer to 6:30, but he can't help but start to cut vegetables in his restlessness, needing to do something so he doesn't drive himself crazy with his thoughts.

He ignores the involuntary smile that appears on his face when he hears the doorbell, forcing a neutral look back onto his face as he wipes his hands on a tea cloth. He heads through the house towards the front door, irritated with how he checks his appearance in the hallway mirror before moving to open the door. He thinks he's never cared so much before because Chanyeol had always been the one to care too much for the both of them.

He's expecting to open the door and find Jongdae and Baekhyun bickering over something, or Baekhyun hanging off of Jongdae as they shamelessly flirt (Kyungsoo's figured out it's a competition between them now). What he isn't expecting to find on the other side of the door is Jongdae standing there alone, with a bottle of wine in hand, and yet that's exactly what he finds. 

His confusion must be evident on his face because Jongdae shrugs and says, "Baekhyun was being mopey or something, I couldn't be bothered to spend an hour trying to drag him out the house."

Kyungsoo steps aside to let Jongdae in, nodding slightly. As Kyungsoo shuts the door behind Jongdae, Jongdae says, "But that's okay, who wants Baekhyun when they can have me?"

Kyungsoo scoffs out a laugh, mumbling out, "Literally anyone", before moving past Jongdae to lead him towards the kitchen. Jongdae trails behind him, whining about how that's no way to treat a guest.

Returning to his chopping, he tries not to get irritated when Jongdae hops up on the counter, much like how Chanyeol usually does. Jongdae notices his glances his way, however, a smirk appearing on his lips as he says, "I bet you're thinking about how good I look, right?"

Placing down the knife, Kyungsoo sighs and says, "I know you think everyone fancies you Jongdae, but I can guarantee that's not the case here."

Much to Kyungsoo's disappointment, Jongdae doesn't seem deterred by the rejection, grinning as he says, "Oh come on, Kyungsoo. It's just a bit of fun." 

Returning to his cutting, Kyungsoo says, "I'm pretty sure you and I have very different ideas of fun, Jongdae. I'm not even sure I know how to hang out with you without it being awkward."

Kyungsoo can hear Jongdae sliding off the counter and moving around as he responds, "That's not true, we hung out here together before when Baek and Chanyeol were being all flirty. That wasn't awkward."

Turning to find out what exactly Jongdae is doing, Kyungsoo sighs out, "That wasn't hanging out, that was you attempting to flirt with me whilst I looked at Facebook on my phone. God, can you please stop looking through the fridge?"

Jongdae turns from his search in the fridge, a pout on his lips as he whines out, "But Soo, I'm hungry."

Kyungsoo sighs, voice exasperated as he says, "Well if you want food faster then you should help me cook, and don't call me Soo".

Shutting the fridge door, Jongdae starts moving over to Kyungsoo as he says, "But Chanyeol calls you Soo."

"Chanyeol has best friend privileges, you're hardly even an acquaintance."

Kyungsoo's worried he's gone too far for a second, so used to his playful rudeness towards Chanyeol, but all his worries disappear when Jongdae laughs and asks, "If I help cook, do I get a cute apron like yours?"

Looking down at himself, Kyungsoo realises he'd put his apron on without any thought, a faint blush painting his cheeks that causes Jongdae to coo over him. Frowning, and batting Jongdae's hands away, he moves over to a drawer and pulls out a neatly folded apron. 

Jongdae's face lights up when Kyungsoo passes him the apron, looking way too excited about wearing it for a University student. Kyungsoo waits patiently for him to finish tying the apron before starting to show Jongdae how to do a simple task. 

They work in silence for a few minutes, something that surprises Kyungsoo, before Jongdae breaks it by saying, "I didn't find it awkward."

"Didn't find what awkward?"

Kyungsoo sees Jongdae shake his head in amusement from the corner of his eye, letting out a short laugh before saying, "Last time we hung out here, I didn't find it awkward."

Kyungsoo pauses his cooking to turn his focus to Jongdae, letting his words flow out slowly as he says, "You didn't find it awkward flirting at someone for half an hour and getting no response?"

Jongdae smirks, winking at Kyungsoo as he says, "You underestimate my love for a challenge, Kyungsoo."

Letting out a loud sigh, Kyungsoo points to a drawer and says, "You're insufferable Jongdae, the cutlery is in there, go set the table please."

Jongdae doesn't seem to take offense, winking at Kyungsoo again and saying, "Try not to miss me too much", as he heads out the kitchen.

Once food is cooked, and Kyungsoo's suffered through more of Jongdae's non-stop flirting whilst he cooked, they move to the table. Kyungsoo's not much of a drinker but he gives into Jongdae's whines of, "Just one glass, please Kyungsoo."

Although they eat in silence for the most part, Kyungsoo oddly finds that it isn't uncomfortable at all. They're getting close to finishing their food, drinking their second glasses of wine (Kyungsoo's apparently easier to persuade after one glass) when Jongdae says, "Are those your games or Chanyeol's?"

Kyungsoo's gaze trails to where Jongdae's pointing to, landing on a shelf with DVD's and video games on it. He smiles a little as he responds, "The more modern ones are Chanyeol's, I prefer the older games."

Kyungsoo watches in amusement as Jongdae leans forwards, eyes squinting to try and read the names on the cases', before loudly asking, "Is that Crash Bandicoot?"

Kyungsoo can't help but let a grin slip onto his lips as he says, "Yeah! I have most of the Crash Bandicoot games, including one of the racing games."

Jongdae's face lights up as he exclaims, "Dude, I love Crash Bandicoot!"

Kyungsoo's grinning widely now, excited that he can finally talk about his favourite game series with someone. It's getting late and usually he'd try to end the night around this time when guests are over, but in his excitement he blurts out, "Do you wanna play?"

Jongdae, who had moved closer to the shelf to actually look at the games, turns to Kyungsoo with a shocked expression and says, "Really? You'd let me?"

Kyungsoo, for a moment, thinks wow that's adorable before pushing the thought aside and responding, "Sure, you can set up your own save file, if you want?"

Jongdae looks like a kid on Christmas day, rushing over to the couch with a game in his hand and shoving it towards Kyungsoo as he says, "This one, please!"

Chuckling at Jongdae's switch in attitude, Kyungsoo moves to turn on his PlayStation, setting up the TV and starting up the game. He settles down next to Jongdae on the couch, watching as Jongdae starts a new game, loudly making commentary as he plays that makes Kyungsoo giggle.

Soon the two of them are fully into the game and Kyungsoo wouldn't have noticed the time if he didn't receive a text from Baekhyun asking if Jongdae was still at his. Nudging Jongdae with his elbow, he says, "Hey, it's midnight and Baekhyun wants to know where you are."

Jongdae pauses the game, turning to Kyungsoo and saying, "I should head home, right? I've definitely overstayed my welcome."

Kyungsoo bites his lip, a habit he's developed that he does whilst he's thinking, his mind arguing over the decision he's about to make. He doesn't notice the way Jongdae looks at his lips as he says, "Well it's late so you could always stay the night, you can take Chanyeol's bed."

Jongdae seems to not realise Kyungsoo's stopped talking for a moment, still staring at his lips before he shakes his head and says, "Oh, yeah that'd be awesome, thank you so much, Kyungsoo."

Kyungsoo puts it down to the wine he'd drank, even though he's completely level headed now, as he watches Jongdae save the game. He tries not to think too much about how easily he and Jongdae had slipped into hanging out together as he turns off the TV and PlayStation, beckoning for Jongdae to follow him upstairs.

Once he's explained where Chanyeol keeps pyjama's, hoping that Chanyeol had left some behind, and pointed out the bathroom to Jongdae, he calls out, "Night", and begins getting ready for bed himself.

He finds that once he's curled up in bed, he feels a lot more comfortable with the sounds of someone else moving around the house and he falls asleep a lot easier than expected considering Jongdae isn't someone he knows well.

 

* * *

He wakes up feeling well rested and heads for a quick shower to fully wake himself up. Once he’s dressed and his hair is sort of just damp, he heads downstairs to make coffee, knocking loudly on Chanyeol’s door as he passes. 

He’s just finishing making their coffees when he hears footsteps heading towards the kitchen, Jongdae’s voice calling out, “Morning.”

Kyungsoo’s not really sure what he was expecting but he can’t hide his shock when he turns and finds Jongdae shirtless. Kyungsoo allows his gaze to trail over Jongdae’s sleep mussed hair, his gaze moving down to Jongdae’s bare chest before quickly flicking back up to his face. 

There’s a smirk on Jongdae’s lips as Kyungsoo says, “Why are you shirtless?”

Jongdae moves over to grab his coffee, brushing against Kyungsoo as he says, “Chanyeol doesn’t own pyjama shirts so I had to go shirtless. Why? Is it bothering you?”

A frown makes its way onto Kyungsoo’s lips as he realises there’s nothing he can do about the situation. He grabs his own coffee, moving away from Jongdae as he says, “A thank you for the coffee would be nice.”

Jongdae’s smirk morphs into a grin, imitating a childlike voice as he says, “Thank you, Kyungsoo!”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, sipping his coffee and attempting not to keep looking at Jongdae, especially his exposed chest and messy hair. It’s irritating to him that Jongdae can still look good even after just rolling out of bed, especially when he has to put in effort to look good himself. 

A slight frown makes it way onto Kyungsoo’s face as he has these thoughts, and he’s brought out of his head when Jongdae says, “What’s wrong?”

Shaking his head as he places his coffee down on the counter behind him, Kyungsoo says, “Oh nothing, I’m just not a morning person.” It’s a lie and they both know it, but Jongdae shrugs and lets it go.

Jongdae lifts himself up to sit on the counter like he had done the previous evening, laughing lightly at the annoyed expression on Kyungsoo’s face. He runs a hand through his hair as he whines out, “I so want to finish the game from last night, but it’s not exactly something I can do in one sitting.” His voice trails off as he seems to be in thought, continuing on to mumble, “Maybe I could save up to buy it myself, cut down on how much food I’m buying for a few weeks.”

A concerned frown appears on Kyungsoo’s face, not liking the sound of Jongdae eating less just to buy a game. He surprises himself when he says, “You could always come round here to play the game?”

Jongdae’s face lights up, a wide grin on his lips as he says, “Really?”

Kyungsoo lets out a soft sigh, deciding he’s started so he may as well commit himself, and says, “Yeah, it could be a weekly thing, y’know? I guess every Friday works best?”

Jongdae looks like a child on Christmas day as he exclaims, “Thanks Kyungsoo, you’re the best!”

Kyungsoo blushes slightly, attempting to cover it up by nonchalantly saying, “It’s for my own benefit too, I need someone to test my meals on.”

Jongdae’s not deterred by Kyungsoo’s response, hopping down from the counter as he says, “Perfect! It’s a win-win situation then.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, watching Jongdae take his mug to the sink before saying, “Please tell me you’re going to go change into actual clothes.”

Jongdae turns to Kyungsoo, an exaggerated pout appearing on his lips as he says, “Kyungsoo, I didn’t realise you hated me seeing shirtless so much. Am I that ugly?”

Ignoring Jongdae’s question, Kyungsoo finishes his own coffee before saying, “Just go get changed, Jongdae.”

Saluting Kyungsoo, Jongdae says, “Yes sir”, before marching out of the room. Kyungsoo waits until Jongdae is out of sight before he lets an amused smile slip onto his face. 

Jongdae may be the complete opposite of Kyungsoo in many ways, but Kyungsoo thinks maybe them becoming friends isn’t a bad thing. He starts to wash up their dishes from the previous night, not wanting to spend to much time thinking about his budding friendship with Jongdae. 

Jongdae heads home shortly after returning downstairs fully dressed. Kyungsoo doesn’t like how quickly silence falls upon the house without someone else around, he hates how much it bothers him. He ends up spending the whole day playing music loudly whilst he tidies the house, not wanting to sit around and do nothing in the silence. He ignores how the image of Jongdae shirtless keeps forcing it’s way to the front of his mind, not wanting to waste time on trying to analyze his own thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait but here's chapter 2, I hope you guys enjoy it!

The next week drags more than the previous week much to Kyungsoo’s disappointment. He’s found himself actually socialising with his course mates after lectures, subconsciously finding ways to put off going home to his silent house. He feels a little bad for not being as sociable with them before, they’re not actually all that bad. The easiest one to hang out with is probably Mingyu, a tall clumsy kid who reminds Kyungsoo of Chanyeol. Sure, he can get a bit clingy and ignores Kyungsoo’s attempts to push him away, but Kyungsoo enjoys that Mingyu is okay with doing most of the talking and allowing Kyungsoo to listen.

He’s in the campus cafe with Mingyu on Wednesday, the two of them having just finished a lecture. Mingyu has an arm wrapped around Kyungsoo’s shoulder as they wait in line, rambling on about a restaurant he went to last week that had amazing desserts. They order their drinks and whilst they’re waiting for them to be made, Mingyu moves to resting his chin on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, ignoring Kyungsoo’s grumbles of, “Can you stop hanging off me?”

Just as they’re collecting their drinks, Mingyu refusing to stop hanging off Kyungsoo meaning Kyungsoo has to grab both of their drinks, Kyungsoo hears a familiar voice say, “Kyungsoo!”

Turning around, which is a struggle with someone attached to him, he spots Jongdae sitting at a table with a guy he recognises as Jae, a friend of Chanyeol’s. Jongdae beckons for Kyungsoo to join them and Kyungsoo nudges Mingyu to follow as he heads over to Jae and Jongdae. 

He greets Jae politely before turning his attention to Jongdae, raising an eyebrow at the exaggerated pout on Jongdae’s lips, saying, “What’s up with you?”

Jongdae’s voice comes out whiney when he says, “How come he’s allowed to be all cuddly with you? You don’t even let me sit too close to you!”

An amused look makes it way onto Kyungsoo’s face as he replies, “Mingyu really doesn’t give me a choice, plus he’s too tall for me to shove him away.”

Mingyu grins widely as he says, “Are you Jongdae? Kyungsoo’s whiney friend?”

Jongdae’s pout shifts into a confused look as he says, “Yeah I am, how do you know my name?”

Mingyu ignores the light nudge to his side from Kyungsoo, happily responding, “He’s mentioned you a few times this week, I figured you were him since you sound whiney.”

Kyungsoo flushes slightly as Jongdae’s gaze moves to him, a smirk on his lips as he says, “Has he now?” 

Kyungsoo elbows Mingyu to stop him from responding as he says, “What? I’m not allowed to mention my friends?”

Jongdae quirks an eyebrow, an amused look on his face as he says, “I thought I was an acquaintance?”

Kyungsoo sighs loudly, nudging Mingyu again as he responds, “Whatever. Mingyu, let’s go sit down.”

Jongdae reaches out for his arm as he says, “Wait, are we still on for Friday?”

Kyungsoo nods at Jongdae in response before moving his attention to Jae and saying, “It was nice seeing you Jae, I’ll have to let Chanyeol know I saw you. Sorry to leave you with Jongdae.” He ignores Jongdae’s whines of protest as he walks away, Mingyu trailing behind. 

As they sit down, Mingyu says, “He does seem like he’d look good shirtless.”

Kyungsoo lets out an exasperated sigh before replying, “Shut up and drink your coffee.” Mingyu sticks his tongue out at him childishly before following the order.

* * *

Friday rolls around and Kyungsoo tells himself that he’s just excited for hanging out with someone, not excited because it’s Jongdae. Even so, when Jongdae meets him at the end of his lecture to head to Kyungsoo’s together, half of his coursemates shoot him a knowing look. Kyungsoo makes note in his head not to help them all next time they’re confused during a lecture, flipping them off before saying, “Jongdae, let’s go.”

The walk home is filled with Jongdae rambling, Kyungsoo only really half listening. It’s only when Jongdae says, “And the dumbass broke his phone the other day, I don’t know what he was thinking”, that Kyungsoo tunes back in.

He turns his head to look at Jongdae as he says, “Wait, who broke their phone?”

Jongdae rolls his eyes, as if he knew Kyungsoo wasn’t fully listening, and says, “Baekhyun, he threw it across the room and the screen has this huge crack in it now.”

A puzzled look forms on Kyungsoo’s face as he asks, “Why would he do that?”

“No idea, he wouldn’t tell me. He just picked up his phone and left the room.”

“Maybe a text angered him?”

Jongdae falls silent as he seems to be in thought, before his face lights up and he says, “Oh, but what if it was the lack of a text?”

Kyungsoo shoots him a look as he says, “What are you talking about?”

Jongdae slings an arm across Kyungsoo’s shoulders, ignoring his attempts to shrug it off, and replies, “They’ve probably never gone this long without talking Soo, Chanyeol hasn’t messaged him once.”

Kyungsoo frowns as he replies, “Doesn’t seem like enough of a reason to chuck his phone across the room.” There’s a moment of silence between them before he continues, “And I told you not to call me Soo.”

Kyungsoo pushes Jongdae’s arm off his shoulder as they reach his house, rolling his eyes when Jongdae replies, “I thought we were best friends now?”

Unlocking the front door, Kyungsoo responds, “Don’t push it, you’re lucky I refer to you as a friend.”

Jongdae ruffles his hair as he walks past him, mumbling out, “How is someone so cute so mean?”

Kyungsoo tells himself that his pink cheeks are from the walk home, definitely not from being called cute.

Much like the previous week, Jongdae annoys Kyungsoo until Kyungsoo gives him an apron (on Jongdae’s request) and a task to do. Surprisingly, Jongdae mainly shuts up as he’s helping Kyungsoo out. Eventually the silence bothers Kyungsoo and he says, “Why are you being so quiet? It’s weird.”

Jongdae doesn’t turn to look at Kyungsoo as he says, “The faster dinner is cooked, the earlier we can eat, the more time I can have to play Crash Bandicoot.”

Silence falls again before Kyungsoo lets out a loud laugh, Jongdae finally turning to look at him as Kyungsoo laughs loudly. Once Kyungsoo calms down, he says, “You’re literally a child, I can’t believe so many people on campus think you’re hot and cool.”

Jongdae pouts as he whines out, “I am hot and cool, everyone wants to get with me.”

Kyungsoo shrugs as he turns back to his cooking, voice still amused as he says, “Not everyone. Anyway let’s get this done so we can make the kid in you happy.”

Jongdae whines a little more that Kyungsoo is mean, but still goes back to his task, clearly eager to get it finished. 

Like the previous Friday, Kyungsoo sends Jongdae to set the table whilst he finishes up the food, fed up of being asked if it’s done yet. He can’t help the soft smile on his lips at Jongdae’s excitable nature.

Luckily, Jongdae calms down as they eat dinner, actually managing to keep a more civilized conversation about their plans after third year. However, when Jongdae finishes his meal, and Kyungsoo is still eating his, the former starts to fidget. Kyungsoo watches him amusedly as Jongdae’s gaze keeps flickering to the game shelf before back to Kyungsoo’s plate. 

After a few minutes of letting this go on, Kyungsoo nudges Jongdae’s shin with his foot under the table and says, “You can go set up the game, you don’t have to wait to leave the table.”

Jongdae quickly responds, “I was being polite, Kyungsoo”, but he’s already heading over to the game shelf, ignoring Kyungsoo’s soft laughter.

Even though Jongdae sets up the game, he waits till Kyungsoo has finished eating to start playing. Kyungsoo is impressed by his patience as he finally joins Jongdae on the couch, ignoring Jongdae’s mumble of, “Took you long enough.”

Jongdae’s just completed a particularly hard level, grinning as he high fives Kyungsoo. They both turn back to the game and Jongdae leans to rest his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder, letting out a whine when Kyungsoo pushes him away (lightly, Kyungsoo swears he pushed him lightly). Jongdae pouts as he turns to Kyungsoo and says, “What was that for?”

Kyungsoo shrugs as he says, “You know I’m not a cuddly person.”

Jongdae narrows his eyes as he accusingly says, “So why do you let Mingyu hang off you?”

Kyungsoo pushes away the finger Jongdae has pointing at him as he responds, “I can’t push Mingyu away, he’s stronger and bigger than me.”

Jongdae’s pout returns and for once he seems genuinely upset as he whines out, “No one will let me be cuddly anymore, Baekhyun won’t even cuddle me.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he says, “Well that’s not my problem.”

Jongdae’s shoulders droop, eyes trailing over Kyungsoo’s face as he mumbles out, “Kyungsoo, please.”

Kyungsoo tells himself that he’s doing this to shut Jongdae up, not because he feels bad for how sad the latter looks. It can’t be that bad anyway, it’s not like Jongdae will cling onto him constantly like Mingyu and he has known Jongdae for a while. So, after debating with himself in his mind, he says, “God, okay fine! But you have to stop whining.”

Jongdae nods quickly before moving to drop his head back onto Kyungsoo’s shoulder and continuing with the game. Kyungsoo decides it’s not actually that bad and relaxes, letting himself get lost in Jongdae’s running commentary as he plays the next level, laughing softly whenever Jongdae dies and gets irritated. 

Eventually, Kyungsoo checks his phone and finds that once again it’s past midnight. Nudging Jongdae to show him the time, he mumbles out, “Just stay the night again, it’s late and you’re clearly tired.”

Jongdae doesn’t even protest, just nuzzles his face against Kyungsoo’s shoulder for a second before sitting up and yawning. They follow the same routine of the previous week and Kyungsoo finds that once again he sleeps better with someone else around. 

In the morning, Kyungsoo proposes that Jongdae just brings stuff to stay over every Friday considering they always seem to get lost in gaming. He’s pretty sure how happy Jongdae gets is only partly to do with the gaming.

* * *

Kyungsoo’s not really sure how it happens but as the weeks go by, Jongdae manages to convince Kyungsoo to let him be more cuddly. He’d still been quite hesitant at first but he’s began to find that after a long week, his Friday night cuddles with Jongdae are quite nice; not that he’d tell Jongdae that.

It’s not a hugely obvious difference, but gradually it happens. Jongdae starts to put his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder more often as they walk to Kyungsoo’s house, and Kyungsoo doesn’t push him away. Jongdae rests his chin on Kyungsoo’s shoulder as Kyungsoo’s showing him how to prepare something for dinner, and Kyungsoo only complains slightly that Jongdae isn’t fully paying attention. Jongdae snuggles up to Kyungsoo’s side as they settle down to their usual routine of Jongdae playing games and Kyungsoo watching, and Kyungsoo lets him without any complaint. Jongdae’s even begun to hug Kyungsoo when they greet each other or say good bye, and Kyungsoo’s course mates seem to find this greatly amusing when Jongdae meets him from his lecture every Friday. 

Kyungsoo finds that he can’t tell Chanyeol about him hanging out with Jongdae, especially because his best friend had thought of it as weird. He knows he shouldn’t care so much but he can’t help but not want to be judged by Chanyeol, even though he knows the taller is probably just teasing him. Plus, maybe he’s starting to enjoy that he and Jongdae have these Friday nights to themselves where no one interrupts them and they can hang out freely.

Out of politeness, Kyungsoo had mentioned again that the invite extended to Baekhyun, but Jongdae had frowned slightly and responded, “I asked the first few weeks but he said no, I think he doesn’t want to come to this house.” Kyungsoo had nodded in understanding and it hadn’t been brought up again.

He’s exhausted one Wednesday evening, having had to cut his phone call with Chanyeol short because he couldn’t stop yawning. His university work load had doubled in the last few days and he’s been having several late nights and early morning to get it all done in between lectures. All he has left is an exam on Friday so he gets out his text books and begins revising, jotting down notes and highlighting as he goes. It’s still early evening and he’s sure he’ll get a fair amount of revision done and be able to have an early nights sleep.

He doesn’t realise he’s fallen asleep whilst revising until he’s startled awake by a loud knocking, his text book falling to the floor loudly. He reaches for his phone to check the time as he runs a hand through his hair to keep it out of his eyes. Seeing that it’s only a few minutes past 8 pm, he pushes himself up to standing, yawning as he makes his way towards the front door. The doorbell rings and he loudly calls out, “Alright, okay! I’m coming!”

Opening the door, he’s confused when he’s greeted to the sight of Jongdae on his doorstep. He trails his eyes over Jongdae’s tense form as he asks, “Jongdae? What are you doing here?”

Jongdae meets his eyes and a little whimper escapes his lips before he quietly says, “Can I - Can I come in?”

Kyungsoo nods, quickly moving aside to allow Jongdae to step into the hall. As soon as Kyungsoo’s shut the door, Jongdae’s tugging on his arm to get his attention. Meeting Jongdae’s gaze once again, Kyungsoo notices the sadness in his eyes as he softly asks, “What’s wrong?”

In an instance, Jongdae’s neutral face crumbles and he lets out a loud sob, covering his face with his hands. Kyungsoo’s heart breaks a little as he pulls Jongdae into his arms and mumbles, “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

They stand in the hallway like that for a few minutes before Kyungsoo softly says, “Hey, why don’t we move into the living room?”

It’s a small movement, but Kyungsoo feels Jongdae nod against his shoulder before the latter steps out of Kyungsoo’s arms. Jongdae allows Kyungsoo to hold his hand and lead him into the living room. 

Kyungsoo’s never seen Jongdae like this, he knew Jongdae was going through a rough time but he hadn’t expected to see him looking so broken. He leads Jongdae over to the couch, pulling him close again once they’ve sat down. Jongdae sobs softly against his neck as Kyungsoo runs a hand through Jongdae’s hair softly, whispering soft reassurances. 

After a few minutes, Jongdae’s arms tighten around Kyungsoo and he mumbles out, “My dad - he - he has cancer.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widen as he pulls Jongdae closer and softly says, “Jongdae, I’m so so sorry.” Jongdae breaks down sobbing again and Kyungsoo rubs his back softly as he says, “Let it all out, it’s okay, I’ve got you.”

Another few minutes pass before Jongdae lifts his head up, a pained expression on his face as he says, “He’s getting worse Kyungsoo, the - the chemotherapy, it’s not working.”

Kyungsoo brings his hands up to wipe away Jongdae’s tears, gently stroking his cheeks as he says, “I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something to help Jongdae, I really do.”

Jongdae reaches up to hold one of Kyungsoo’s hands, eyes closing as he whimpers out, “Just - please - please don’t leave me alone tonight.”

Kyungsoo runs his free hand through Jongdae’s hair as he softly says, “Of course, I’m here I promise.”

Jongdae sobs again and Kyungsoo pulls him back into his arms, tracing patterns on his back gently as Jongdae’s tears fall onto his shoulder. It hurts Kyungsoo to see Jongdae this way, to know that Jongdae’s been acting like everything’s fine even though his dad has cancer. He realises, as he whispers reassurances to Jongdae, that maybe their Friday night hang outs mean more to Jongdae than he’d realised. Maybe they’re a chance for Jongdae to escape from his thoughts, a chance to go back to his past with games from his childhood that remind him of fond memories. Kyungsoo had almost forgot Jongdae was going through a hard time with all the good times they’ve had together.

Eventually, Jongdae’s sobs turn into quiet sniffles and a few quiet whimpers. Kyungsoo runs a hand through Jongdae’s hair as he softly asks, “Does Baekhyun know about your dad?”

Jongdae nods, voice soft and so fragile sounding as he responds, “He knows he’s got cancer, but he doesn’t know he’s gotten worse. Baekhyun hasn’t been the same since Chanyeol left, he barely leaves his room unless it’s for lectures or to eat.”

“So you came to me instead?”

Jongdae sniffles again as he asks, “Is that okay? I don’t want to be a burden.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head slightly, rubbing Jongdae’s back as he says, “Of course it’s okay, I’m glad you came to me. I think you should tell Baekhyun though, he needs to know how much his best friend needs him.”

Jongdae’s head finally lifts at this, eyes wide with fear as he says, “Are you telling me to leave? I can’t go, not now.”

Kyungsoo gently tugs Jongdae’s hair as he softly responds, “Of course not silly, I meant when you end up going home.”

Jongdae lets out a shaky broken laugh, eyes shutting as he says, “Right, of course. Sorry I just - I’m just.”

Kyungsoo smiles slightly, wiping away a fallen tear as he says, “I know, it’s okay. Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Jongdae nods slightly, eyes opening as he quietly mumbles, “Thank you, Soo.”

Kyungsoo smiles, holding his hand out for Jongdae to take as he responds, “Anytime, Dae.”

Jongdae lets out a tired laugh at the nickname, allowing Kyungsoo to pull him up from the couch and start leading him upstairs. His stumbles in his steps when he stops in front of Chanyeol’s room but Kyungsoo keeps leading him. Kyungsoo looks back with a fond smile and says, “Let’s go to my room, I told you I wouldn’t leave you alone.”

Jongdae chokes out a sob, moving to cling onto Kyungsoo’s arm as he mumbles, “Thank you.”

Kyungsoo gently pets his hair before continuing to lead him into his room, leading Jongdae to sit on the bed. He runs a hand through Jongdae’s hair before saying, “Will you be okay if I leave you to go get your spare pyjamas from Chanyeol’s room?” 

Jongdae nods in response, holding onto Kyungsoo’s hand tighter for a moment before letting go. Kyungsoo doesn’t think he’s ever walked so quickly as he goes to collect the pyjamas Jongdae leaves behind for when he stays on Fridays. He’s back in his room in moments and Jongdae smiles at him sadly as he takes the clothes from him.

Kyungsoo pets his hair again as he says, “Will you be okay in the bathroom alone?”

Jongdae lets out a quiet laugh, raising an eyebrow at Kyungsoo as he attempts to sound his normal self, and says, “Why? Did you want to join me?”

Kyungsoo chuckles warmly, nudging Jongdae to stand as he says, “Okay Mr, off you go.”

Once Jongdae exits the room, Kyungsoo moves to get changed into his own pyjamas, movements quick in case Jongdae returns. When he’s dressed, the more time passes, the more worried he gets. He forces himself to hold back from going to knock on the bathroom door, reminding himself Jongdae is a fully grown man. He can’t help the sigh of relief that leaves his lips when Jongdae returns to the room though.

Patting the bed before standing, Kyungsoo says, “Get yourself comfy, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Jongdae nods, giving Kyungsoo a slight smile as they pass each other. Kyungsoo feels a little silly for how much he rushes his night time routine, but he hates the idea of leaving Jongdae alone in such a fragile state. Once he finishes up, he quickly returns to his room, smiling softly at Jongdae curled up in bed.

Turning off the light, he makes his way to his bed, sliding under the covers. He reaches a hand out to gently touch Jongdae’s back as he softly asks, “Do you want to cuddle?”

Jongdae doesn’t respond, just turns round and shuffles closer until his head is rested on Kyungsoo’s chest, his arm draped over Kyungsoo’s stomach. Kyungsoo smiles, running his hand down Jongdae’s back gently as he softly says, “Night, Dae.”

Kyungsoo feels Jongdae smile against his chest as he mumbles out, “Night, Soo.”

It’s not long before Jongdae’s clearly asleep, snuggled close to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo eventually allows himself to fall asleep too once he’s completely sure Jongdae’s not going to wake up and need him. He tries not to think about how nice it feels to be sleeping with Jongdae cuddled up to him. 

He wakes to the feeling of Jongdae little breaths against his neck, sniffling slightly in his sleep. Kyungsoo knows he should get up to start revising but he doesn’t want to wake up Jongdae when he’s sleeping so peacefully. He runs his hand up and down Jongdae’s back gently as he softly hums one of Chanyeol’s songs, smiling when Jongdae stirs slightly. Jongdae shuffles around in Kyungsoo’s arms until he can look at Kyungsoo without their faces being too close.

He smiles at Kyungsoo as he says, “Baekhyun always said you could sing, why have I never heard you?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he responds, “What does Baekhyun know, I haven’t sung in front of anyone other than Chanyeol since high school.”

Jongdae pouts as he mumbles out, “Unfair”, before dropping his head back down onto Kyungsoo’s chest. 

Moving his hand up to run it through Jongdae’s hair, Kyungsoo softly asks, “How’re you feeling this morning?”

Jongdae shrugs slightly, lifting his head up again as he responds, “As good as I can be.”

Kyungsoo hums in sympathy, voice careful as he asks, “How bad would it be if I asked you to get out of bed so I can go downstairs and start revising?”

Jongdae slowly pushes himself up to sit, the duvet falling down to Kyungsoo’s hips, as he says, “Not bad at all, what are you revising for though?”

Wriggling himself out from under the duvet, Kyungsoo replies, “I have an exam tomorrow, I fell asleep revising yesterday evening.”

Jongdae frowns as the two of them move to stand, stretching as he asks, “Did I wake you up?”

“Yeah you did, probably a good thing really, it would’ve been super uncomfortable to sleep there all night.”

Jongdae’s frown deepens as the two of them head out of Kyungsoo’s room, his voice quiet when he says, “Still, I bet you were exhausted and you had to deal with me, I’m sorry.”

Reaching for Jongdae’s shoulder as he’s about to head downstairs, Kyungsoo slowly turns him around to face him. He gently squeezes Jongdae’s shoulder as he says, “Jongdae, please don’t apologise. I’m glad you came to me last night.”

Jongdae nods slightly, averting his eyes to the floor as he mumbles, “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t let me come in.”

Laughing softly, Kyungsoo responds, “Like I would turn you away.”

A small smile makes its way onto Jongdae’s lips as he turns back towards the stairs, sounding more like himself as he says, “Of course you wouldn’t, who would turn away Kim Jongdae?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, laughing as he gently nudges Jongdae to walk downstairs, following after. Jongdae makes sure to mumble, “See! Everyone loves Kim Jongdae”, as he heads downstairs, earning him a light punch to the back from Kyungsoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to talk to me then feel free to hmu on Tumblr @soft-jihoonie or twitter @pcy_hoe


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, life has been busy with work and socialising but here's another chapter finally!!

Kyungsoo’s afternoon lecture had been cancelled as the exam would spill over into it, so he'd arranged for Jongdae to just come over after he finished uni. Kyungsoo was confident the exam had gone well, he’d managed to get a fair amount of revision done yesterday, surprisingly so as Jongdae had stayed till midday. As a sort of reward for himself, but mainly a way to help Jongdae feel better, Kyungsoo had decided they would order pizza for dinner, a fact Jongdae was unaware of. As Kyungsoo waits for Jongdae’s lecture to end, he starts getting the living room ready for the evening. 

By the time Jongdae texts to say he’s on his way, Kyungsoo has the tv set up with the start up menu for the current Crash Bandicoot game Jongdae’s playing on screen. There’s various pillows and one or two blankets placed on the couch for them to get comfy under, and a bowl of crisps that Kyungsoo had picked up on his way home on the coffee table. It’s a cosy, familiar atmosphere, and he’s looking forward to a relaxing evening with Jongdae. He sits down to wait for Jongdae, laughing at a dumb video Chanyeol’s sent him over messenger of a dog growling at its own foot. It’s very Chanyeol and Kyungsoo feels like he’s counting down the days until Chanyeol will move back. He knows it selfish, he’s happy his best friend is getting new experiences, he just misses him being around. 

He’s brought out of his thoughts as he’s mindlessly scrolling through Facebook when he hears the doorbell ringing, quickly locking his phone and standing. He’s greeted by a grinning Jongdae when he opens the door, but his smile drops a little when he notices Kyungsoo’s slightly off smile. 

He steps into the house, pulling Kyungsoo into a quick hug as he says, “What’s wrong? Did the exam go badly?”

Kyungsoo contemplates not telling Jongdae because he feels slightly silly for being so affected by missing his best friend. He knows Jongdae won’t let it go though, and it’s not exactly something to be ashamed of, so he mumbles out, “No, the exam went well I think. I’m just missing Chanyeol a little, that’s all.”

Jongdae smiles sympathetically, ruffling Kyungsoo’s hair before heading down the hallway. Checking that Kyungsoo’s following, he responds, “It must be hard not having him around. It’s okay though, you have the one and only Jongdae to cheer you up!”

Kyungsoo chuckles, nudging Jongdae through the doorway into the living room. When Jongdae notices the game set up, his face lights up and he says, “Is dinner already ready?”

Following Jongdae over to the couch, Kyungsoo responds, “I figured we should order pizza tonight.”

Jongdae turns away from the tv screen to stare at Kyungsoo in awe, sounding confused when he asks, “Pizza? Why? We never have take away.”

“Think of it as a reward to myself for doing the exam. It also gives you more time to play the game and I figured you deserve a chance to relax.”

A wide smile forms on Jongdae’s lips before he pulls Kyungsoo into a hug, loudly exclaiming, “You’re actually the best, I don’t deserve you.”

Kyungsoo lets out a laugh, patting Jongdae’s back as he responds, “Yeah okay, get off me so we can actually order food.”

Food is finally ordered after a long debate over whether they needed garlic bread as well as the pizza. Kyungsoo had said no whilst Jongdae insisted it was needed. They end up buying it too when Kyungsoo gives in due to Jongdae pouting. Jongdae makes a joke that he’s found Kyungsoo’s weakness but takes it back moments later when Kyungsoo gets him in a headlock. After that they return to their usual routine of Jongdae playing and Kyungsoo watching whilst they wait for the pizza to arrive.

It’s after they’ve finished their pizza (and garlic bread), and Jongdae’s been playing for a few hours, that Jongdae decides it’s time to stop. Kyungsoo takes this as a cue to get up and start tidying away the pizza boxes, but a light tug on his arm from Jongdae has him flopping back down on the couch without much protest. Jongdae moves to lay down with his head in Kyungsoo’s lap, whining when Kyungsoo attempts to push him off until Kyungsoo finally gives in. 

Kyungsoo lets out an exasperated sigh, but he still starts running a hand through Jongdae’s hair, smiling slightly when the latter leans into the touch. After a few moments in silence, Jongdae nudges Kyungsoo to look down at him, smiling when he does so.

Kyungsoo quirks an eyebrow in question and a soft expression makes its way onto Jongdae’s face as he says, “Y’know, I love that you did this for me, but I sort of like when we have dinner we made together.”

A puzzled expression forms on Kyungsoo’s face as he mumbles out, “You do?”, hand stopping midway through Jongdae’s hair.

Jongdae nods slightly, giggling a little at the feeling of Kyungsoo’s hand stopped on his head, and says, “Yeah! It’s fun helping you cook, I like you teaching me how to do new things. It’s like our own little projects we work on every Friday together. I mean, I know you probably do the same with Chanyeol but, it feels sort of special to me.”

Kyungsoo’s slightly stunned by Jongdae’s words, only just managing to choke out, “I don’t.”

Jongdae frowns up at him confused as he says, “You don’t what?”

Kyungsoo moves his hand up to cover his eyes, cheeks pinking slightly as he responds, “I don’t cook with Chanyeol, not really. I mean sometimes he helps by cutting vegetables or getting me things from the fridge and cupboards, but he doesn’t help like you do.”

Kyungsoo can hear the grin in Jongdae’s voice when he says, “So, it is special to us then? It’s our thing?”

Kyungsoo finally looks back down at Kyungsoo, not expecting the soft smile on Jongdae’s lips. He continues running his hand through Jongdae’s hair as he says, “I - Yeah I guess so.”

Jongdae’s smile morphs into a smirk as he replies, “Great, I can’t wait to tell Chanyeol I’m more special than him!”

Kyungsoo snorts out a laugh, rolling his eyes as he says, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t want to be the one to make Chanyeol cry.”

Kyungsoo’s laughing loudly now, letting go of all his worries about how he’ll be seen as he says, “He wouldn’t cry, shut up.”

Jongdae smiles widely at the sound of Kyungsoo’s laughter, eyes crinkling when he exclaims, “Okay, but you know he’d get jealous, don’t try to argue with me on this!”

Kyungsoo giggles, shaking his head as he says, “You’re right, he would.” He laughs a little more before it fades, face falling into a slightly sad expression. 

Jongdae’s smile shifts to a softer one as he says, “You miss him a lot, huh?”

Kyungsoo attempts to smile as he mumbles, “It’s nothing, I know I’ll see him again in a few months.”

Jongdae reaches up to hold Kyungsoo’s hand that’s now resting next to Jongdae’s head, squeezing it lightly as he says, “It’s okay, you’re allowed to miss him. I missed Baekhyun when I went home for a few weeks.”

Kyungsoo lets out a little laugh, squeezing Jongdae’s hand back as he replies, “I know I know, we just haven’t ever been away from each other this long, I don’t think I realised how much I rely on him.”

Jongdae smiles, rubbing his thumb against the side of Kyungsoo’s hand as he says, “Well this is me giving you permission to temporarily rely on me whilst Chanyeol is away.”

Kyungsoo has to look away from Jongdae, suddenly overwhelmed by emotion as he mumbles out, “Thank you, Dae”

After a few moments of the two of them just sitting together holding hands, Jongdae softly humming, Kyungsoo clears his throat and says, “Right, let’s clean up and head to bed.”

Jongdae mumbles out a whine of, “Why do we have to clean up?”, but still lifts himself up to sitting to allow Kyungsoo to stand. Cleaning up doesn’t even take that long considering they just ate from the pizza boxes, and soon they’re heading up the stairs to get ready for bed. Kyungsoo’s slightly grateful when Jongdae makes his way into Chanyeol’s room once he’s done washing up. He’s not sure he could handle sharing a bed with Jongdae after the rather affectionate and emotional moment they’d had. 

He slides into bed after turning off the lights, and if he fell asleep thinking about how comfortable he’d felt with Jongdae holding his hand, well, no one else needs to know that.

 

* * *

Kyungsoo knows he and Jongdae have gotten more affectionate, but he hasn't given it much thought. It happened so naturally after the first time Kyungsoo gave into Jongdae's clinginess that Kyungsoo doesn't fully notice how quickly it's progressed. It's not like they're sitting in each other's laps, but Kyungsoo won't complain if Jongdae hugs him in public, and he's not opposed to occasional hand holding in private if it fits the atmosphere.

So maybe that's why it affects him so much when he realises other people have noticed the change too. He's just finished his Friday afternoon lecture, and as always Jongdae is waiting for him outside. Mingyu is clinging off him as usual when they exit the room, but he lets Kyungsoo brush him off when he spots Jongdae. 

Kyungsoo heads over to Jongdae, Mingyu trailing behind, and allows Jongdae to pull him into a hug as a greeting. As he pulls away from the hug, he hears Mingyu loudly say, "Wow Kyungsoo, I didn't know you could actually smile when someone shows you affection."

Jongdae laughs loudly at this, a few of Kyungsoo's course mates who are passing by snickering too. Kyungsoo's face falls though, he hadn't even realised he was smiling when Jongdae hugged him and that thought alone slightly scares him. 

He allows Jongdae to wrap an arm around his shoulder to lead him away from Mingyu, only just managing to mumble out, "Bye Mingyu, see you next week."

The moment they're out of Mingyu's sight, however, Kyungsoo shakes off Jongdae's arm, tensing slightly. Jongdae doesn't attempt to put his arm around him again as he rambles on about some guy in the flat below his somehow burning pasta. Kyungsoo is grateful that Jongdae probably puts it down to Kyungsoo not always being a fan of PDA, and he hopes he won't notice how much quieter he is on the walk home.

Kyungsoo manages to get away with it the whole walk home, vaguely responding to Jongdae's stories in an attempt to hide his change in behaviour. Once they're in private, however, it's not so easy.

He's distractedly explaining to Jongdae what they're cooking this evening when Jongdae places his chin on Kyungsoo's shoulder like usual. Kyungsoo moves out of the way to get Jongdae off him with a sharp response of, "Will you pay attention?"

Jongdae pouts but doesn't attempt to do it again, turning his attention back to Kyungsoo's explanation. 

However, when Kyungsoo's cutting some meat and Jongdae wraps his arms around his waist, Kyungsoo snaps out, "Jongdae, stop it."

Jongdae lets go, but it's obvious he's noticed that something's wrong. His voice sounding confused when he says, "Dude, what the fuck?"

Kyungsoo takes a deep breath, placing down the knife before turning to face Jongdae. There's a deep frown on Jongdae's lips and Kyungsoo hates that he's the person who put it there. He can't bring himself to explain yet though, so he mumbles out, "What Dae?"

Jongdae softens slightly at the nickname, voice lowering slightly as he says, "Why aren't you letting me hug you? I get that you're not big on PDA sometimes but we're in private right now, Kyungsoo."

The worried expression on Jongdae's face, as if he thinks he's done something wrong, is enough to break Kyungsoo down. He lets his gaze fall to the floor as he says, "It's just Mingyu's comment earlier, and he's been saying that we've gotten more cuddly."

Realisation forms on Jongdae's features as he nods in understanding, smiling slightly when he says, "Well he's not wrong, we have gotten more cuddly, Kyungsoo."

Kyungsoo frowns at Jongdae's reply, head swimming with thoughts whilst he mumbles out, "But I'm never usually cuddly with people, and even if people are clingy with me I don't usually smile because of it."

Jongdae's voice is soft, as if he's afraid to spook Kyungsoo, when he responds, "Soo, you know it's okay to be cuddly with some people, right? You can be comfortable with one person giving you affection, but uncomfortable with someone else, that's allowed. I'm sure you smile when Chanyeol hugs you too."

A stubborn frown forms on Kyungsoo's lips at the fact that Jongdae is right, but he doesn't want to admit that yet. He lifts his gaze up to meet Jongdae, his frown melting slightly as he says, "But we haven't even been friends for that long Dae, and yet we're already so affectionate."

Jongdae laughs softly, shaking his head as he says, "Well I've known you for over a year now so I think it's okay. Even so, it doesn't matter if other people think us being affectionate happened quickly, what's important is if you're comfortable with it."

His expression turns serious as he studies Kyungsoo's face before asking, "You are comfortable with it, right?"

Kyungsoo nods quickly, not wanting Jongdae to think he hasn't been okay with their affection in the past. His voice is slightly frantic as he quickly says, "Of course I am, I just was overthinking because of Mingyu's comment. I'm sorr -"

He's quickly cut off when Jongdae places a hand over his mouth, shaking his head as he says, "No apologising, I understand that affection doesn't come as easily to you as it does to me. Just tell me if you're not comfortable with it next time?"

Kyungsoo nods, Jongdae moving his hand off his mouth. He smiles at Kyungsoo softly before it turns to a grin and he says, "Okay, I'm starving, let's get dinner finished."

Kyungsoo lets Jongdae be more cuddly after that, and he lets himself relax fully. He's realising that Jongdae's right, that he shouldn't care what other's think of their friendship. Jongdae said he could rely on him, and in turn, Kyungsoo lets Jongdae rely on him, if being affectionate is part of it then he doesn't have many complaints. 

When he ends up cuddling into Jongdae's side whilst Jongdae plays the game, he doesn't pull away when Jongdae teases him slightly. He doesn't hold back the soft smile on his lips as he feels Jongdae ruffle his hair slightly before returning to his game.

 

* * *

Jongdae’s been in a particularly good mood the past few weeks because his dad seemed to be getting better, the cancer seemingly reacting to the treatment. So, Kyungsoo is confused when he leaves his lecture on Friday to find Jongdae looking exhausted and like he’s trying very hard to keep it together. 

He ignores Mingyu’s comment of, “Oh look, your boyfriend is here, what a surprise”, as he heads over to Jongdae, instantly pulling him into his arms. 

Jongdae hides his face in Kyungsoo’s neck as he wraps his arms around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. Kyungsoo rubs Jongdae’s back as he softly says, “Bad day?”

Jongdae hums against Kyungsoo’s neck with a slight nod of his head, and Kyungsoo pulls back as he softly says, “Okay, let’s go back to mine, I’ll call a taxi.”

Jongdae shakes his head as he lets Kyungsoo lead him away from his curious course mates, mumbling out, “You can’t afford a taxi.”

Kyungsoo gently squeezes Jongdae’s hand has he says, “I can if I need to get you somewhere private quickly, don’t worry about it.”

Jongdae makes a few more weak protests but gives up once Kyungsoo’s called the taxi and they’re waiting outside the uni. They don’t hold hands as they wait, conscious that they’re in public, but Jongdae stands close to Kyungsoo, hands brushing against each other. In the taxi ride, Kyungsoo makes sure to take Jongdae’s hand in his once again, filling the silence with a story about Mingyu arriving late and tripping up the stairs in the lecture today. He doesn’t let go of Jongdae’s hand, even once they’re inside Kyungsoo’s house and seated on the couch.

Kyungsoo squeezes Jongdae’s hand as he softly says, “What happened?”

Tears start to fall freely down Jongdae’s cheeks as he says, “Last night my mum called. She said - she said that the cancer is spreading and that -.” He chokes on a sob and Kyungsoo quickly pulls him into a hug.

He rubs his hand gently up and down Jongdae’s back as he softly says, “It’s okay, take your time, I’ve got you.”

Jongdae presses his face into Kyungsoo’s neck for a moment, sobbing freely before taking a deep breath and mumbling out, “She said that - that my dad’s decided to stop treatment.”

Kyungsoo frowns, tightening his hold around Jongdae as Jongdae starts sobbing again. He brings a hand up to pet Jongdae’s hair as he asks, “Are you going to see him?”

Jongdae pulls away to look at Kyungsoo, his cheeks tear stained and his eyes rimmed red. He lets Kyungsoo wipe away his tears as he chokes out, “He won’t let me, at least not in term time. He said that he wants me to focus on University, that he’d be happier knowing I was doing well in University. How - How can I do well when I know that my dad is dying?”

Kyungsoo pulls Jongdae back into his arms, voice soft as he responds, “Of course you’ll do well, you’re so hard working Jongdae. You’re not alone either, you have me and Baekhyun and the University knows about your dad, they’ll give you support. I know how hard it must seem, but I promise I’m here with you every step of the way.”

Jongdae chokes out another sob, gripping tighter on the back of Kyungsoo’s shirt as he says, “Baekhyun said that my dad would want me to carry on like everything’s okay.”

Kyungsoo presses a gentle kiss to the side of Jongdae’s head, overwhelmed by a need to comfort the man in his arms. His voice is almost a whisper as he says, “I think Baekhyun’s right, your dad would probably just want you to be happy and living life.”

Jongdae leans back to look at Kyungsoo again, sounding completely broken as he sobs out, “It’s so hard, Soo.”

Kyungsoo pushes Jongdae’s hair out of his eyes whilst he says, “I know it is, Dae. I know how much this must hurt and I promise I’m here, I’m not going to leave you alone.”

When he doesn’t hear a response, his gaze shifts from his fingers in Jongdae’s hair down to Jongdae’s face. He can’t quite work out what the look in Jongdae’s eyes means, and he’s startling moments later when Jongdae’s eyes flutter shut and he starts leaning towards Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo realises, as he turns his head so Jongdae’s lips meet his cheeks, that he’s not doing this because he doesn’t want to kiss Jongdae. He realises he reacted that way because Jongdae is fragile, and the both of them could end up getting hurt if they kissed. He realises that he’s not opposed to kissing Jongdae at all, and the thought shocks him. 

Jongdae, realising what Kyungsoo had done, pulls back and whimpers out, “You don’t want me.” Tears start rolling down his cheeks again as he says, “I’m sorry Kyungsoo, I’ve messed up, now you’ll want nothing to do with me and -”

Jongdae’s cut off when Kyungsoo cups his face in his hands and softly says, “Dae, stop. You haven’t messed up, just listen to me for a moment, please?”

Jongdae nods, whimpering slightly when Kyungsoo drops his hands away from Jongdae’s face. Seconds later though, Kyungsoo is holding Jongdae’s hands in his as he says, “I do - I do want you. But, Dae you’re not in the right mindset right now, we could both get hurt if you kiss me whilst you’re so upset. You understand, right?”

A faint smile forms on Jongdae’s lips as he mumbles, “You do? You want me?” Kyungsoo nods, smiling softly. Jongdae’s smile takes a stronger shape as he says, “Promise?”

Kyungsoo softly smiles back, squeezing Jongdae’s hands as he responds, “I promise. If you were to try and kiss me again when you’re more level headed, I wouldn’t say no.”

Jongdae nods slightly, mumbling out, “Okay”, before resting his forehead against Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

Kyungsoo smiles, petting Jongdae’s hair as he says, “Do you want me to cook you some dinner whilst you play games?”

Jongdae shakes his head slightly, voice quiet as he responds, “Can I just watch you cook instead?”

Kyungsoo smiles softly, replying, “Of course”, as he gently stands and pulls Jongdae up to follow him. 

Jongdae sits on the counter whilst he watches Kyungsoo cook a simple meal, pulling Kyungsoo into his arms every time he passes him by. Kyungsoo doesn’t complain once, even if it does take longer to cook food. 

After dinner, Jongdae decides he just wants to go to bed. Kyungsoo doesn’t hesitate in bringing Jongdae into his room, not wanting to leave him alone when he could break down any moment. Reminiscent of the last time Jongdae had cried in front of him, they get ready for bed separately after Kyungsoo gets Jongdae’s pyjamas for him. 

When Kyungsoo slides into bed after turning off the lights, Jongdae doesn’t hesitate in curling up into Kyungsoo’s arms. Kyungsoo rubs his hand along Jongdae’s spine, chuckling fondly when Jongdae sleepily says, “I’ll get that kiss, you just wait.”

Kyungsoo waits till Jongdae’s asleep to mumble, “I’ll wait forever if I have to”, before pressing a kiss to the top of Jongdae’s head. He snuggles into Jongdae’s warmth and lets Jongdae’s soft breathing lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to talk to me then feel free to hmu on Tumblr @soft-jihoonie or twitter @pcy_hoe


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait (again), I've been busy working and travelling and working on my other fics, so thank you for being patient guys!! I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Kyungsoo can’t help but let his thoughts drift back to that night whenever he has a spare moment over the next few days. The more he thinks about, the more he realises he wants to kiss Jongdae. The more he thinks about kissing Jongdae, the more he realises that maybe he actually has feelings for Jongdae. It’s terrifying but also sort of relieving, explaining why he’s so comfortable with being affectionate with Jongdae in only around a month. A part of him regrets not having told Chanyeol that he was getting closer to Jongdae, because he can’t talk to him about his feelings now. He just keeps telling himself that this isn’t the first time he’s had a crush, so he can handle it without Chanyeol.

Admittedly he’s nervous for when Friday comes around, his thoughts so focused on if it’ll be awkward that it doesn’t even cross his mind that he may see Jongdae before then. That’s probably why he’s so shocked when the doorbell rings on Wednesday evening, interrupting his cooking, and he opens the door to find Jongdae standing there. 

He silently steps aside to let Jongdae in as Jongdae says, “I hope you don’t mind me coming round. I just needed to get out of the house, Baekhyun’s trying to help but I don’t think he really knows how.”

Kyungsoo nods, struggling to find his voice as he responds, “Of course I don’t mind. Do you need comfort? Or, do you just want alone time?”

Jongdae shakes his head, taking Kyungsoo’s hand in his to lead him into the kitchen as he says, “I need to feel normal, I just want to feel like life is going on and nothing has changed.”

Kyungsoo smiles at that, squeezing Jongdae’s hand before returning to his cooking, assuming Jongdae will just get comfortable or join in. It’s after 5 minutes of mostly silence that Kyungsoo turns away from his cooking to look at Jongdae. He’s startled slightly when he sees Jongdae leaning against the counter, staring at Kyungsoo with a look he can’t quite understand. He moves closer to Jongdae, reaching out a hand to him as he asks, “Is everything okay, Dae?”

Before Kyungsoo can realise it’s happening, Jongdae grabs his hand and spins them so that Kyungsoo is leaning against the counter whilst Jongdae stands in front of him. Kyungsoo swallows nervously as Jongdae moves closer, arms caging Kyungsoo against the counter. 

A shiver runs down Kyungsoo’s spine when Jongdae’s eyes drop to his lips, and in a low voice he says, “I can’t stop thinking about you saying I could kiss you, Kyungsoo. When I’m not worrying about home or University, my mind is filled with thoughts of you.”

Kyungsoo feels his jaw drop slightly in shock, lips parting and hands itching to hold onto Jongdae. With how close Jongdae is, he feels like he can hardly breathe, like all of his senses are surrounded by Jongdae, and he doesn’t want it to stop. 

Jongdae’s gaze moves back up to meet Kyungsoo’s as he boldly says, “Can I still kiss you, Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo’s nodding instantly, barely choking out, “Yes”, before Jongdae’s kissing him. Kyungsoo’s hands move up to grip at Jongdae’s shirt as Jongdae somehow moves closer, one hand still on the counter whilst the other moves to tug at Kyungsoo’s hair. Kyungsoo lets out a little moan at the feeling, startling himself as he feels Jongdae grin against his lips. Kyungsoo tightens his hold on Jongdae’s shirt, allowing himself one more moment to enjoy this before gently pulling back.

Jongdae’s eyes flutter open as he smiles at Kyungsoo, gently running his hand through Kyungsoo’s hair as if to apologise for the tugging. Kyungsoo lets his head fall back slightly into the touch, allowing himself to catch his breath before he finally mumbles out, “You didn’t - You didn’t do that because of... y’know?”

A soft smile forms onto Jongdae’s lips before he leans in to press a gentle kiss against Kyungsoo’s lips. He pulls back, shaking his head slightly as he responds, “No. Truthfully, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”

Surprise covers Kyungsoo’s features as he breathes out, “Really?”

Jongdae nods, a fond smile on his lips as he says, “Really. Do you know how cute you are when you’re agitated? Do you know how hot you look when you’re cooking?”

Kyungsoo lets out a chuckle of disbelief before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He lets his hands drop down to Jongdae’s waist as he meets his gaze and says, “Jongdae, I like this and I like you, I really do. But I - I don’t just want to be some fuck buddy you call when you’re frustrated or something.”

A frown forms on Jongdae’s lips as he softly says, “Soo, I can’t - I can’t start a relationship right now, you know that.”

Kyungsoo’s features soften when he responds, “No, I know Dae. That’s not what I’m asking for. I’m just saying, I don’t want to be some, what do you call it? Booty call? I know you and Baekhyun flirt with all these people and I just -”

He’s cut off by Jongdae pressing a kiss to his forehead, his hand gently running through Kyungsoo’s hair as he says, “Never, you would never be a booty call, you mean too much to me, Soo.”

Kyungsoo smiles softly, gently pulling Jongdae into a quick kiss before asking, “So, what are we?”

Jongdae grins, lifting Kyungsoo up to sit on the counter and positioning himself between his legs. He leaves his hands lingering on Kyungsoo’s hips as he says, “Do we need a label? How about we agree to be friends who in private can cuddle and kiss, and more, if you want?”

Jongdae laughs as Kyungsoo pushes at his shoulders slightly, moving closer to Kyungsoo again as he continues, “I like you Kyungsoo. I like cuddling you, I like cooking with you and I really like kissing you. Can you agree to this non-relationship with me?”

Kyungsoo searches Jongdae’s eyes for a moment, only finding sincerity in them, before nodding and softly saying, “Yes Dae, anything for you.”

Jongdae grins, clearly about to coo at Kyungsoo, but before he can, Kyungsoo leans down to kiss him again. After a few more moments of kissing, Kyungsoo pulls away and chuckles out, “Okay, clearly I enjoy this, but can you let me finish cooking dinner?”

Jongdae whines, but steps out of the way to let Kyungsoo slide off the counter. He takes Kyungsoo’s place on the counter as he says, “Fine, but only because you look hot when you’re cooking, plus I plan on making out with you when you’ve finished your dinner.”

Kyungsoo laughs, shaking his head as he returns to his cooking and mutters out, “You wish.”

Even though he’d denied it would happen, Kyungsoo finds himself lying on his back on the couch after dinner, Jongdae straddling his hips. He doesn’t protest when Jongdae leans down to kiss him, and he doesn’t stop the smile that forms on his lips as he grips onto Jongdae’s waist and kisses him back. 

After kissing for a while, Jongdae breaks the kiss and moves down to Kyungsoo’s neck. Even though a little voice in his brain tells him that he should stop Jongdae giving him hickeys, he can’t bring himself to stop him. He knows it’s not really going to help keep whatever their relationship is a secret, but in the moment he allows it to happen.

It’s only when they head upstairs to go to sleep, Jongdae automatically following Kyungsoo to his room, that Kyungsoo notices the damage. He pokes at his neck in front of his bedroom mirror, calling out to Jongdae who’s in Chanyeol’s room getting his pyjamas, “Are you a fucking vampire now, Jongdae?”

Jongdae returns to the room, leaning in the doorway. His eyes trail over Kyungsoo’s neck as he attempts to hide his smirk and faux innocently asks, “What do you mean?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, grimacing as he pokes at a sore spot on his neck and mumbling out, “It’s like you attacked my neck, was this many hickeys necessary?”

Jongdae moves over Kyungsoo, wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist as he hooks his chin on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. His eyes meet Kyungsoo’s in the mirror as he says, “I think they look pretty, like art.”

Kyungsoo snorts, shaking his head as he exclaims, “Every one’s going to notice these if I go out in public, my lecture on Friday is gonna be awful.”

Jongdae starts dragging Kyungsoo away from the mirror as he mumbles, “They’ll just be appreciating my art.”

Before Kyungsoo can answer, Jongdae presses a kiss to his lips and then moves away to head to the bathroom, pyjamas in hand. Kyungsoo calls out, “I don’t appreciate your so called art”, ignoring Jongdae’s chuckles from the bathroom as he moves over to his drawers to grab some pyjamas.

* * *

Kyungsoo spends most of Thursday at home, wishing his hickeys will magically disappear. Jongdae laughs at how pouty Kyungsoo is in the morning and makes it his mission to kiss the pout off Kyungsoo lips right up until the moment he heads back home to get changed before his lecture later. Despite his annoyance at the hickeys, Kyungsoo can’t help the smile that forms on his lips every time he thinks about Jongdae throughout the day. 

When he’s getting dressed on Friday morning, the best he can settle for is a collared shirt that slightly hides some of the hickeys. He considers putting on a turtleneck sweater but considering the weather is warming up, he knows it would be more suspicious if he wore it. By the time he’s walking to university to head to his two hour lecture, he’s rather on edge when anyone walks by. 

He makes it to his lecture room without any comments made his way, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. His feeling of relief is over the moment he steps into the room though, his coursemates eyes following him as he makes his way over to where he usually sits with Mingyu. He can see them laughing and mumbling to each other and he quickens his pace, dropping into seat next to Mingyu quickly. 

Mingyu grins at him before he notices Kyungsoo’s neck, eyes widening as he says, “Kyungsoo, what the fuck?”

Kyungsoo feels his cheeks warm up in embarrassment but he attempts to seem unaffected as he rolls his eyes, mumbling out, “Mind your own business, Mingyu.”

Mingyu lets out a laugh as he responds, “I don’t think anyone can when they’re that obvious! What:? Did someone just attack your neck? Who even was it?”

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes, voice lowering as he threatens, “Mingyu, if you don’t shut your mouth, I'll tell Wonwoo over there that you've been staring at his ass whenever you can for the past month.”

Mingyu’s cheeks flush pink as he whips his head around to check no one’s heard. Satisfied that no one’s heard, he turns back to Kyungsoo and groans out, “You’re actually the worst.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes in response, satisfied that he’s shut Mingyu up as the lecturer enters the room. It’s sort of difficult to focus during the lecture when he can feel at least one pair of eyes staring at him every few minutes, but at least he doesn’t have to deal with Mingyu’s usual chatter, the younger man pouting next to him.

As soon as the lecture finishes, Mingyu’s grabbing his things to clumsily pack them in his bag before rushing off out the door, pouting at Kyungsoo once before he walks away. Kyungsoo watches him walk away as he mumbles out, “Giant baby.”

He’s not too worried about Mingyu’s behaviour, knowing that the younger will be over it in a few hours. Kyungsoo does feel a little bad for threatening to expose his crush though, so he makes a mental note to be a bit nicer to Mingyu on Monday as he heads out of the room. Spotting Jongdae waiting for him, a unamused frown appears on his lips at the smirk on Jongdae lips. 

Once Kyungsoo’s walked close enough that they can speak in low voices, Jongdae grins and says, “I bought you flowers, as an apology for the hickeys”, as he slings an arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow as they starting walking and asks, “So where exactly are these flowers?”

Jongdae at least looks a little sheepish when he mumbles, “Well... I may have given them to Baekhyun.”

Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes and responds, “You know what? I’m just not going to ask. Thanks for the flowers, I guess.”

Jongdae grins as he exclaims, “You’re welcome!”, narrowly avoiding the elbow Kyungsoo aims at his side.

Kyungsoo can’t help but smile the whole way home though, falling into easy conversation with Jongdae as they walk. Once they get to the house and head inside, Jongdae kisses Kyungsoo quickly before heading off to the kitchen. Kyungsoo pretends that one kiss alone wasn’t enough to stop him from following Jongdae for a few seconds whilst he recollected himself.

Cooking dinner is a quick affair thanks to Jongdae being more efficient in the task given to him than usual, and Kyungsoo puts it down to the former wanting to play games like usual. They chat about the possibility of Chanyeol ending up with Sehun over dinner and for once they seem to disagree on something without reaching a compromise. It’s not an argument though, Kyungsoo knows that he wants Chanyeol to be happy and he knows that Jongdae thinks Chanyeol is best with Baekhyun. They simply just discuss their own opinions on the matter before Jongdae decides to turn the conversation to how Kyungsoo’s lecture had gone with the hickeys visible.

Once dinner’s over, Kyungsoo nudges Jongdae’s leg with his foot and says, “Do you want to play on the Playstation now?”

He takes a sip of his drink, not noticing the look Jongdae gives him as he responds, “No, I want you.”

Choking on his drink, Kyungsoo coughs a little before he mumbles, “Or - or that can happen, I guess.”

Jongdae smirks at how flustered Kyungsoo looks, standing and saying, “Come here, babe.”

Kyungsoo stands quickly, almost tripping over his own feet as he moves over to Jongdae. He lets Jongdae pull him close, melting into the kiss Jongdae presses against his lips, hands clutching at Jongdae’s shoulders.

Jongdae chuckles lowly when he pulls away, a hand running down Kyungsoo’s back and stopping just above his ass as he says, “Looks like you wanted me too.”

Kyungsoo wants to sigh and roll his eyes, but the want to kiss Jongdae wins over and he leans up slightly to kiss him again. When Jongdae pulls away, his eyes seem darker as he mumbles, “Bedroom?”

Kyungsoo nods quickly, letting go of Jongdae’s shoulders and letting Jongdae grab his hand and lead him upstairs. They’ve barely made it through the doorway to Kyungsoo’s bedroom before Jongdae presses him against the wall and kisses him, hands running down Kyungsoo waist, along his hips, until they glide over his ass. Jongdae squeezes Kyungsoo’s ass lightly, causing the latter to break the kiss and mumble, “Bed.”

Jongdae steps away from Kyungsoo, pulling him towards the bed and turning them around so Kyungsoo has his back to bed. He pulls Kyungsoo into another kiss before gently pushing Kyungsoo to fall back onto the bed. Kyungsoo shuffles himself onto the bed properly as Jongdae watches him, not sure how to feel with how Jongdae’s looking at him with so much want. Jongdae waits until Kyungsoo’s laying on the bed, elbows near the pillows so he can prop himself up to watch Jongdae. Just when Kyungsoo’s starting to shift uncomfortably from the wait, Jongdae moves onto the bed, straddling Kyungsoo’s hips as he smirks down at him. 

Kyungsoo’s hands move to Jongdae’s hips as he lets his head drop to the pillow, looking up at Jongdae as his hands slip under his shirt and trace patterns over Jongdae’s skin. Jongdae brings a hand up to rest on Kyungsoo’s chest as he says, “What do you want, Soo?”

Kyungsoo’s hands rest just above Jongdae’s hips as he replies, “Kiss me.”

Something flickers in Jongdae’s eyes before he’s smirking again, moving away his hand as he says, “Ah ah, that’s not a very polite way to respond.”

Kyungsoo wants to groan in exasperation but he knows that’ll make Jongdae tease him more, so he faux innocently cocks his head and says, “Kiss me, please.”

Jongdae lowers himself so he’s hovering over Kyungsoo, hips rolling against Kyungsoo’s as he mumbles out, “You sure that’s what you want?”

Kyungsoo’s hands slide up Jongdae’s back under his shirt as he slightly whines out, “Please Dae.”

Jongdae finally lets himself close the gap, smirking when Kyungsoo kisses him eagerly and rolling his hips against Kyungsoo’s again, the friction making Kyungsoo moan quietly into Jongdae’s mouth. 

Kyungsoo’s tugging at Jongdae’s shirt, wanting it off so he can see Jongdae’s chest again (he hasn’t stopped thinking about Jongdae shirtless after the first night Jongdae stayed all those weeks ago), when his phone starts ringing, buzzing in his pocket. Jongdae breaks the kiss, sitting back against Kyungsoo’s thighs looking unimpressed as Kyungsoo reaches into his jeans pocket for his phone.

He’s barely registered that Chanyeol’s calling him before Jongdae’s plucking his phone out of his hand and putting it on the bedside table. Kyungsoo attempts to grab it again as he says, “Wait, that was Chanyeol, what if he needs me?”, Jongdae grabbing his hands to stop him.

Letting go of Kyungsoo’s hands, Jongdae pulls his shirt off himself as he says, “If Chanyeol needs someone that urgently, he’ll talk to Sehun or his mum.”

Kyungsoo wants to argue but he can’t take his eyes of Jongdae’s torso, hands coming up to trace his abs and muttering out, “Fuck...”

Jongdae chuckles as he says, “Like what you see baby?”

Kyungsoo’s hands stop at the name, eyes meeting Jongdae’s again as he says, “Kiss me again, please Dae.”

Jongdae shakes his head, hands moving to the hem of Kyungsoo’s shirt as he responds, “This needs to be off, you’re wearing too much.”

Kyungsoo has to admit he’s a little self conscious about showing Jongdae his body, nowhere near as well built as the latter. Even so, he pushes himself up to sitting and lets Jongdae pull his shirt off, blushing when Jongdae checks him out and says, “You’re so hot, Kyungsoo.”

Pushing Kyungsoo to lie back down lightly, Jongdae moves down to Kyungsoo’s collarbone to leave a hickey there, smirking at the way Kyungsoo’s nails rake down his back in response. He runs a hand down Kyungsoo’s torso until he meets the hem of Kyungsoo’s jeans, moving his hand down to add slight pressure to Kyungsoo’s crotch. Kyungsoo lets out a small moan and Jongdae smirks, mumbling, “So sensitive”, against Kyungsoo’s skin.

He sits back on Kyungsoo’s thighs again, hands quickly undoing Kyungsoo’s button and zip on his jeans. He’s just tugging Kyungsoo’s jeans down his legs when Kyungsoo’s phone starts ringing again, stealing Kyungsoo’s attention. He raises an eyebrow unimpressed when Kyungsoo picks his phone up and mumbles, “It’s Chanyeol.”

Jongdae growls, pinching Kyungsoo’s exposed thigh as he says, “If you answer that phone then I won’t touch you for the rest of the night.”

Kyungsoo starts to say, “But what if -”, but the moment Jongdae starts to move off the bed, he places his phone back on the bedside table and says, “Dae, don’t stop, please.”

Jongdae continues removing Kyungsoo’s jeans before moving off the bed to remove his own as he says, “That’s what I thought.”

Moving back to straddle Kyungsoo again, Jongdae leans down to kiss him, his tongue slipping into Kyungsoo’s mouth as he grinds down against Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo groans against Jongdae lips, hands running down Jongdae’s back to cup his ass. He rolls his hips up to meet Jongdae’s when Jongdae grinds against him, revelling in the moan that slips from Jongdae’s lips. Jongdae breaks the kiss, kissing down Kyungsoo’s body until he reaches the hem of his underwear, snapping the elastic against Kyungsoo’s skin before cupping his bulge, smirking when Kyungsoo’s hips buck up into his touch.

He brings his lips down to mouth at Kyungsoo’s bulge, leaning into the touch when Kyungsoo’s hands fly into his hair and tug. His hands move up to pull Kyungsoo’s underwear down when the phone starts ringing again. Kyungsoo feels Jongdae growl against his crotch before he moves away from Kyungsoo, reaching over to the bedside table to push Kyungsoo’s phone down onto the carpet below. His gaze meets Kyungsoo’s as he says, “I want all your attention on me”, before returning to removing Kyungsoo’s underwear. 

If Chanyeol keeps calling, Kyungsoo doesn’t notice with all his attention on how good Jongdae makes him feel, bringing him to the edge before teasing him and not letting him get off yet. It’s not until the two of them are panting in bed together later, Jongdae pressing kisses to Kyungsoo’s shoulder, that Kyungsoo remembers his phone. He leans down from the bed to pick it up off the floor, causing Jongdae to whine, but all he does is put it on charge before returning to Jongdae’s arms. 

Jongdae presses a kiss to the new hickey on Kyungsoo’s collarbone before saying, “You’re hot when you’re begging.”

Kyungsoo lets out a soft laugh and says, “And you’re a massive tease. Come on, let’s go shower, I feel gross.”

Jongdae perks up at this, grinning as he exclaims, “I get to shower with you too? Fuck, this day just keeps getting better.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but lets Jongdae lead him into the bathroom anyway, giggling when Jongdae kisses his forehead before turning away to turn on the shower.

* * *

Kyungsoo finds that once you start seeing someone, you end up learning things you’d probably never of known before. He learns that Jongdae really, really enjoys straddling him and he can’t quite find it in him to get fed up with this fact.

He also learns that Jongdae thinks any situation is appropriate to kiss him when they’re in the house. Kyungsoo doesn’t want to order pizza for dinner? Jongdae kisses him to persuade him. Kyungsoo’s being grumpy because he’s tired? Jongdae kisses him to cheer him up. Kyungsoo burns his finger when cooking? Jongdae holds his hand under cold water and kisses his forehead, then his cheeks, then his lips and finally his finger when it’s been under the water long enough.

Kyungsoo also learns things about himself, like the fact that he’s pretty much whipped for Jongdae, not that he’ll admit it to anyone. He learns that he’s way too easily swayed by Jongdae’s kisses, or by Jongdae pouting and being whiney. He learns that if Jongdae shows up unexpectedly when he’s upset, he’ll drop everything to comfort Jongdae. He also learns to have his own ways of persuading Jongdae when they get into discussions that just don’t seem to end. 

It’s sort of funny how different they act behind closed doors, having made the mutual decision to not tell others because it’s not the easiest situation to explain. Kyungsoo can cuddle Jongdae and kiss him whenever he wants at his house. He can hold Jongdae’s hand when he feels like it and cuddle up to him as they fall asleep on nights Jongdae stays over. In public, however, Kyungsoo can’t do any of these things. 

He’s not sure if Jongdae’s done it on purpose, but he pretty much stops all affection with Kyungsoo in public. Sure, the fond smiles and occasional hugs when they say good bye still happen, but Jongdae doesn’t even really put his arm around Kyungsoo when they walk home anymore. Kyungsoo tries to not think about it too much, but he can’t help but feel like he’s keeping this big secret and one slip up will send it all crashing down. He really, really doesn’t want to lose whatever it is that he has with Jongdae.

His least favourite thing is when he has watch people flirting with Jongdae, something that’s happening right this moment as they’re sitting in the campus cafe. The girl’s invited herself into the booth they’re sitting in, sat close to Jongdae as she compliments his looks and singing. Kyungsoo managed to get from the conversation that the girl’s doing the same degree as Jongdae (vocal performance), but he zones out after, not really interested in hearing what she has to say to Jongdae. 

He knows Jongdae is being polite as he smiles and chats along with the girl, he’s seen Jongdae flirting back and this, this definitely isn’t it. Still, Kyungsoo’s finds himself having thoughts that he wishes he could tell the girl Jongdae was with him. Every thought he has like that, he has to remind himself that Jongdae is not his boyfriend, and that Jongdae can flirt with and be flirted with by whoever he likes. It’s hard to not feel like Jongdae and him are together when he knows Jongdae likes him, and Jongdae is always so clingy when they’re in private. But, he reminds himself it’s all behind closed doors, no one else knows about them, and they’re not exactly exclusive. 

Kyungsoo tries to ignore his thoughts as he people watches, sort of wishing they’d gone to the cafe Sehun works at so he’d at least have someone to chat with. He’d came to the cafe with Jongdae to give his mind a rest from University work, but so far all that’s happened is him going through more stress because of his dumb feelings. Kyungsoo brings his attention back to Jongdae and the girl when he feels Jongdae’s foot nudge him under the table, eyes refocusing as Jongdae says, “You okay?”

Kyungsoo smiles back, shrugging as he says, “Just tired, don’t worry about me.”

Jongdae doesn’t seem fully convinced, but the girl’s stealing his attention back moments later as she says, “Jongdae, what do you think about us doing a duet together some time?”

Kyungsoo tunes out once again, but he doesn’t look away again, instead subtly letting his gaze trail over Jongdae’s features. When Jongdae laughs at something and his hair falls in his eyes, Kyungsoo’s fingers itch to reach over and brush it away. He holds himself back though, because that’s not the type of friends people think they are, and he’s fairly certain he knows at least 3 people from his course in the cafe right now.

Kyungsoo thinks maybe it’s so frustrating because he’s never had to hold back his affection before, with Chanyeol everyone knows they’re best friends, and with past people he’s dated it’s never been a secret. He’s being selfish, he knows that, Jongdae is going through a hard time and if he doesn’t want people to know about him and Kyungsoo then Kyungsoo understands, he just can’t help his own thoughts.

Eventually, the girl leaves, Jongdae nudging Kyungsoo’s leg under the table again. When Kyungsoo shakes his head to refocus his eyes, Jongdae laughs and says, “Did you enjoy staring at me?”

Kyungsoo laughs, hoping Jongdae won’t notice his slightly pink cheeks as he says, “Sorry, I zoned out, got bored.”

Jongdae shakes his head, a soft smile on his lips as he amusedly says, “She wasn’t boring, Kyungsoo.”

“The conversation was though, how many times did she tell you had an amazing voice?”

Jongdae laughs, a smirk appearing as he responds, “You can’t hate her for telling the truth.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he sarcastically says, “Wow yes, I can see why she’d be interested in someone so modest.”

Jongdae’s voice drops to a quieter level as he smirks and replies, “Didn’t stop you from falling for me, did it?”

Kyungsoo lets out a loud sigh, ignoring Jongdae laughing at his obvious blush as he says, “Shut up, Jongdae.”

Jongdae quirks an eyebrow as he says, “Make me.”

If Kyungsoo could, he would kiss Jongdae right now. He looks so hot and Kyungsoo wants nothing more than to tug his hair and bite his lip and kiss that goddamn smirk off his lips. Instead, he rolls his eyes again and says, “Are you done flirting now?”

Jongdae’s smirk shifts into a pout as he whines out, “You’re no fun, Soo.”

He stays pouting for a minute or two before Kyungsoo sighs and suggests Jongdae comes over. Jongdae grins instantly at the suggestion, muttering, “About time”, before downing the last of his barely warm coffee. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he finishes his own coffee, but he can’t deny that he’s pretty eager to get back home so he can finally kiss that smirk off Jongdae’s lips.

When they arrive at Kyungsoo’s, it’s exactly what he does. He pushes Jongdae against the wall as soon as the door is shut and kisses him, letting himself be in control for a moment before giving in and letting Jongdae take the lead. He’s not surprised at all when moments later he’s lying on his bed, Jongdae straddling his hips as they make out. It’s silly but he finds himself smirking because that girl was trying so hard to flirt with Jongdae, and yet Kyungsoo’s the one Jongdae’s currently grinding against as they kiss. 

Jongdae pulls away from the kiss just as Kyungsoo lets out a quiet moan, grinning down at him as he says, “Why are you smirking? What are you thinking?”

Kyungsoo lets the smirk drop, innocently blinking at Jongdae whilst saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Jongdae’s eyes darken at Kyungsoo acting innocent, growling out, “Sure you don’t”, before moving his lips down to suck at Kyungsoo’s neck. Kyungsoo’s glad Jongdae’s focus is on his neck so that he doesn’t see his smirk return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to talk to me then feel free to hmu on Tumblr @soft-jihoonie or twitter @pcy_hoe


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for yet another long wait, I spent a lot of summer working and now I've started back at uni, but finally here's another chapter! This is definitely a chapter that will make more sense if you've read my fic I Keep Falling For You, but it'll still make sense if you haven't. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it.

Aside from their usual Friday night hang out’s, it’s become a habit for them to go for coffee together at least once weekly. It’s a nice break for the two of them in between lectures or if Jongdae’s particularly struggling that day and just wants to hang out and attempt to feel normal. Kyungsoo loves seeing the way Jongdae relaxes in the atmosphere of cafe’s, but he’s not sure how much longer he can handle having to sit there and listen to people flirting at Jongdae. There’s only so much people watching he can do.

So, with that in mind, Kyungsoo finds himself dragging Jongdae to the cafe Sehun works at after they finish their lectures. Jongdae whines the whole walk over, still not a supporter of Sehun and Chanyeol dating. Kyungsoo understands, Jongdae is loyal to his best friend, but Kyungsoo is loyal to his. Plus, Kyungsoo will take Jongdae’s whining over watching people flirt at him any day.

Kyungsoo doesn’t ever plan to tell Jongdae this, but, he finds whiney Jongdae absolutely adorable and sort of wants to baby him every time. He doesn’t do that though, he has a reputation to uphold thank you very much. 

As they’re approaching the cafe, Jongdae clings onto Kyungsoo’s arm and whines out, “Soo, I don’t wanna hear him talk about how cute he and Chanyeol are.”

Kyungsoo chuckles, stopping to turn and face Jongdae as he says, “We don’t even know if he’s working today, chill out.”

This earns him a pout from Jongdae who continues to cling onto Kyungsoo’s arm as they head to the door to the cafe, only letting go once they step inside. A quick look around the cafe shows that Sehun isn’t around, and Kyungsoo tries to ignore Jongdae’s satisfied smile as he heads to the counter to order. Once they’ve ordered and collected their drinks, Kyungsoo heads to a two-person table in the hopes that it’ll put off anyone who wants to flirt at Jongdae.

Jongdae’s rambling about something from his lecture, and honestly Kyungsoo has no idea what he’s talking about, but Jongdae makes everything interesting. Kyungsoo swears he’s listening intently to Jongdae, but he’s quick to notice Sehun exiting the break room, smiling when the younger spots him.

Sehun says something to his boss before jogging over to their table, grinning as he says, “Kyungsoo! It’s been too long already, how are you?”

Kyungsoo lets Sehun pull him into a hug as he says, “I’m great, how are you? I’m so happy about you and Chanyeol by the way, I don’t know if you realise how much happier he sounds now.”

Sehun’s cheeks flush pink and he’s beaming at Kyungsoo when he responds, “I’m really good! Thank you so much, it means a lot coming from you.”

Kyungsoo smiles fondly, ruffling the youngers hair before he notices Jongdae trying to hide a scowl. He nudges Jongdae’s leg with his foot as he says, “Oh! Sehun, this is Jongdae.”

Realisation dawns on Sehun’s face as he points at Jongdae and exclaims, “You’re Baekhyun’s best friend!”

Jongdae smiles tightly and responds, “Yep, that’s me.” It earns him a kick under the table from Kyungsoo, so he continues, “It’s nice to finally meet you after so long.”

Sehun seems to notice the shift in atmosphere, his smile shrinking as he says, “Yeah, you too. I should get back to work. Kyungsoo, we need to hang out again soon!”

Kyungsoo agrees, ruffling Sehun’s hair again before allowing him to return to work. He turns back to Jongdae, raising an eyebrow as he says, “You’re rude, Kim Jongdae.”

Jongdae pouts, before exclaiming, “You know I’m happy Chanyeol’s happy, especially because that makes you happy, but you also know I’m biased to Baekhyun!”

Kyungsoo forces himself not to be swayed by Jongdae’s sweet comment he slipped in, taking a sip of his drink before responding, “I say this a lot, I know I do, but your best friend has been an asshole.”

Jongdae rolls his eyes, mumbling, “Whatever”, before taking a sip of his drink. In the space of a few seconds, he seems to change his mind on ignoring Kyungsoo’s comment, leaning forward slightly as he says, “Actually no. I agree Baekhyun’s done some shitty things, but you can’t forget all the good things he’s done for Chanyeol too.”

Kyungsoo raises his eyebrow again, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin in his hands as he says, “Go on.”

Jongdae smiles softly for a moment, mumbling out, “You’re so cute”, before his expression switches to a more serious one.

He shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts and says, “I could go on for hours but I’ll cut it down. Remember that day Chanyeol got a really bad grade for an essay and you were busy so Baekhyun took Chanyeol out for ice cream and wouldn’t stop telling dumb stories about himself until Chanyeol smiled again? Or, the time when Baekhyun showed up at the end of Chanyeol’s lecture because Chanyeol had been overworking, so Baek dragged him to the cinema just so he’d take a break and stop overthinking his work? Oh! And Baekhyun mentioned that in high school whenever someone made fun of Chanyeol for being tall or having big ears, he’d list off all the reasons Chanyeol was amazing and make long lists of good things that came from being tall and having bigger ears.”

10 minutes later, Kyungsoo can’t help the soft smile on his lips as Jongdae tells more stories of things Baekhyun has done for Chanyeol, and he thinks maybe he can understand why Chanyeol was so smitten. When Jongdae finishes his rambling, he’s smiling proudly as if he’s incredibly proud that Baekhyun is his best friend.

Kyungsoo’s tempted to tease him but Jongdae looks so happy that he just says, “Well, I guess if Baekhyun hadn’t rejected Chanyeol then Chanyeol never would’ve agreed to do the internship. I think he would’ve regretted turning it down later in life.”

Jongdae nods, smiling fondly as he responds, “Exactly, and then we wouldn’t have ended up getting close and this would never have happened”, his hand gesturing between the two of them.

Kyungsoo ducks his head as a wide grin appears on his lips, forcing it into a smaller fond smile as he looks back at Jongdae. Their eyes meet and Kyungsoo softly says, “I suppose I can forgive Baekhyun, in time. I can’t say that I’m not happy something between us happened because of the situation.”

Jongdae grins, voice dropping lower as he says, “When we get back to yours, I’m gonna kiss and cuddle you for hours and spoil you.”

Kyungsoo ignores the blush on his own cheeks as he grins and says, “Who said you were coming to mine?”

Jongdae rolls his eyes playfully, responding with, “Me, I’ve invited myself, you can’t say no.”

Kyungsoo just chuckles and drinks the last of his coffee, nudging Jongdae to do the same and saying, “Well, are you coming back to mine or not?”, when Jongdae shoots him a confused look.

* * *

Kyungsoo loves Saturday mornings, he loves them because he gets to wake up next to Jongdae, cuddled up under the duvet together. Mostly he wakes up first, prying himself out of Jongdae’s arms and getting himself dressed before heading down to start breakfast. Somedays he’s too tired after a late night or a long week, and he gets woken by Jongdae peppering his face with soft kisses, his hand running through Kyungsoo’s hair. 

Today is one of those days, Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter open as Jongdae presses a kiss to the tip of his nose and Kyungsoo smiles softly, mumbling out, “Morning.”

Jongdae smiles down at him, voice soft as he says, “Morning sleepy head, did I tire you out too much last night?”

Kyungsoo bats a hand against Jongdae’s side as he whines out, “Shut up Dae.” Jongdae just chuckles and leans down to capture Kyungsoo’s lips in a soft kiss, neither of them able to stop themselves from grinning.

These types of mornings are lazy ones, where Kyungsoo has to use the suggestion of showering together to convince Jongdae to let him out of bed. Jongdae falls for it every time but each time he pushes Kyungsoo up against the shower wall and kisses him lazily, Kyungsoo knows Jongdae’s got what he wants.

Kyungsoo knows Jongdae likes these mornings because Kyungsoo’s always more relaxed, less likely to fight for control between the two of them, he enjoys being taken care of anyway.

Eventually, they get dressed and head downstairs for brunch considering they’d spent most of the morning in bed or in the shower. Jongdae is always extra lazy after a shower together, but he still helps out with cooking when Kyungsoo asks him, not without some whining though.

Jongdae goes back to being lazy after brunch, however, dragging himself to the couch and turning the tv on to watch some cartoons. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, shaking his head fondly at how childlike Jongdae can be, and starts clearing the table. 

He’s washing a frying pan he used when cooking when he hears Jongdae whine out, “Kyungsoooooo.”

Chuckling quietly, he dries off his hands and heads into the living room, voice amused when he says, “Yes Dae?”

Jongdae holds a hand out in Kyungsoo’s direction and whines out, “Come here.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head and says, “I’m doing the washing up, Dae.”

Jongdae pouts like a child, stretching his hand out again as he whines, “Nooo, I’ll help you do it later.”

Kyungsoo laughs and responds, “You won’t”, but his feet are already moving him towards Jongdae.

As soon as he’s close enough for Jongdae to reach him, Jongdae grabs his hand and tugs him down onto his lap. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, but still shuffles until he’s comfortably straddling Jongdae. He smiles down at Jongdae as he says, “You’re so lazy.”

Jongdae chuckles, thumbs rubbing circles into Kyungsoo’s hips as he responds, “And you do too much.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head, mumbling out, “It’s important to get things done before you forget.”

“More important than kissing me?”

Kyungsoo tries to ignore Jongdae’s smirk but he just can’t, shaking his head before leaning down to kiss Jongdae. It’s a slow gentle kiss, the both of them too lazy to make it heated, and Kyungsoo’s so caught up in the feeling of happiness bubbling in his chest because of Jongdae, that he doesn’t hear the front door being unlocked.

After a few minutes, he pulls away from kissing Jongdae, smiling down at him until he realises there’s someone standing in the doorway. His eyes meet Chanyeol’s and he freezes, Chanyeol doing the same. Kyungsoo’s brain is running at 50mph, trying to think of what to say or do right now.

His thoughts are interrupted when Chanyeol loudly blurts out, “What the fuck?”, and Kyungsoo feels Jongdae startle even though he can’t take his eyes off Chanyeol.

Jongdae twists around to look at Chanyeol before his gaze trails back to Kyungsoo, a smirk on his lips as he says, “Well that sorts out your problem, Soo.”

Kyungsoo knows he’s trying to lighten the mood, but it’s not gonna help the situation, so he lightly smacks Jongdae’s shoulder as he hisses out, “Please shut up.”

Jongdae pouts but Kyungsoo’s attention is stolen again when Chanyeol clears his throat and says, “Is someone going to explain this to me? Or should I just go back home and pretend I saw nothing?”

Jongdae starts to say, “Go back home”, but Kyungsoo claps a hand against his mouth.

He shoots Jongdae a warning look as he feels him poke his tongue out against Kyungsoo’s hand, sighing lightly as he responds, “I'll explain I promise, just let me walk Jongdae out first.”

He starts to move off Jongdae’s lap, his hand not moving off his mouth until Jongdae pushes it away. He sees the hurt on Jongdae’s face and instantly regrets his words as Jongdae says, “You’re making me leave?”, hurt seeping into his voice.

Kyungsoo attempts to reach for Jongdae but Jongdae pulls away, standing quickly as he says, “Fine, I'll go, I guess you don’t want me around.” 

Kyungsoo watches Jongdae walk away for a second before following him into the hallway. He makes several attempts to reach out to Jongdae, and each time Jongdae shrugs his hand off or brushes it away.

Kyungsoo sort of wants to cry but he knows he’s the one he needs to apologise, he can’t let Jongdae leave like this. It’s only when they reach the front door and Kyungsoo quietly says, “Jongdae, please”, that Jongdae stops, turning to look at Kyungsoo.

Seeing how hurt and angry Jongdae looks, Kyungsoo reaches his hand up to cup Jongdae’s cheek, softly saying, “I'm sorry. Of course, I want you around, but it’ll be easier to explain to Chanyeol if it’s just me and him. I promise I'll call you later.”

Jongdae seems to crumble slightly, leaning into Kyungsoo’s touch as his eyes flutter shut and he softly responds, “I know, I understand, I overreacted.”

Kyungsoo smiles fondly, completely forgetting it’s not just him and Jongdae in the house as he says, “Yeah, but I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Jongdae’s eyes flutter open and Kyungsoo leans up to kiss him softly, smiling when Jongdae’s hands grip onto his hips. He pulls back from the kiss, letting Jongdae move to open the front door, vaguely noticing Chanyeol heading into the living room. Jongdae pauses in the doorway, turning back to Kyungsoo as he says, “I’m not mad at you.”

Kyungsoo smiles, relief flooding through him as he says, “I’m glad, text me when you’re home.”

Jongdae nods, pulling Kyungsoo into another quick kiss before walking away, Kyungsoo doesn’t close the door until he can’t see Jongdae anymore. Once he closes it, he gives himself a moment to prepare for the conversation he’s about to have, before heading into the living room. The conversation goes better than he expects and he can’t deny how happy he is to see his best friend again.

Even though he spends the day catching up with Chanyeol, he still remembers to call Jongdae. It’s not the longest conversation but Jongdae suggests he comes round tomorrow and Kyungsoo quickly agrees, suggesting he comes around about 1 pm.

He spends the rest of the day focusing on Chanyeol and just enjoying the time they have to hang out, but he can’t help the niggling thought in the back of his mind that Jongdae definitely sounded hurt. 

The next morning passes quickly and soon Kyungsoo’s saying goodbye to Chanyeol again, watching as his best friend drives away. He still has about 2 hours to kill until Jongdae’s due to come over so he forces himself to start on an essay he has to write, not noticing how fast time passes until there’s a knock on his door and he realises it’s already 1 pm. He knows he looks a little rough, having constantly run his fingers through his hair in frustration whilst writing the essay, but he knows he doesn’t have time to fix it as he heads to the front door.

Opening it, he sees Jongdae looking unsure of himself, and the moment Jongdae steps inside and shuts the door behind him, Kyungsoo pulls him into a tight hug. Jongdae wraps his arms around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, breathing in deeply before mumbling out, “Hey you.”

Kyungsoo chuckles lightly, nuzzling his face into Jongdae’s neck as he mumbles out, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Jongdae’s hand plays with Kyungsoo’s hair as he says, “Of course you didn’t, you were shocked, I understand.”

Kyungsoo tightens his arms and mumbles, “But you’re still upset?”

Jongdae nods slightly and says, “It’s not your fault though, I’m not upset with you. Come on, let’s go to the living room.”

Kyungsoo lets Jongdae lead him into the living room, cuddling into Jongdae’s side as soon as they sit down. He presses a kiss to Jongdae’s lips before saying, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Jongdae takes Kyungsoo’s hand in his, watching the way he traces patterns on the back of Kyungsoo’s hand as he responds, “I’m not mad at you, but I am sort of upset about having to leave. I know why you did it and the rational part of my brain tells me that I shouldn’t be upset, I just -”, cutting himself off with a sigh.

Kyungsoo moves to straddle Jongdae like the day before, bringing a hand up to run through Jongdae’s hair as he says, “You just, what?”

Jongdae hides his face in Kyungsoo’s chest, holding him close as he says, “The other part of my brain keeps saying you didn’t want me around, that you were ashamed of Chanyeol seeing us.”

Kyungsoo uses his hands to coax Jongdae to look up at him, kissing him softly before saying, “Never, I would never be ashamed of anyone seeing us, especially not my best friend. I love having you around, I wouldn’t have asked you to leave if I didn’t know how difficult Chanyeol would be if you’d stayed. It might have not seemed it, but I was trying to avoid you getting into an awkward situation, I didn’t want him asking you loads of questions about what you’re going through.”

Jongdae hides his face once again, whining out, “Stupid. I’m so stupid. I didn’t even consider that, I just got upset instantly.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head, running a hand through Jongdae’s hair as he softly says, “You’re not stupid at all. Of course you didn’t consider that, I should have explained it to you.”

Jongdae lifts his head up to look at Kyungsoo, a soft smile on his lips as he mumbles out, “We’re idiots.”

Kyungsoo smiles, pressing a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead before saying, “But we’re each other's idiots.”

Jongdae pulls Kyungsoo in a kiss and they kiss lazily for a few moments before Jongdae pulls back. There’s a sheepish smile on his lips and he says, “I may have - uh - told Baek. About me and you, I mean.”

Warmth spreads throughout Kyungsoo’s chest at the fact that Jongdae told his best friend, but he ignores it as he says, “My best friend knows, it’s only fair yours does too.”

Jongdae grins, mumbling out, “Oh thank God”, before continuing in a louder voice, “So, where did we leave off yesterday?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, but still leans into kiss Jongdae, grinning against his lips as he tugs lightly at Jongdae’s hair.

* * *

Kyungsoo is sure other people must have noticed the change in him because even he notices how much happier he seems. It’s not like he wasn’t happy before his thing with Jongdae started, but he smiles more, and it’s not like his education is affected but he has more to focus on now than just Uni and the troubles of his best friend. 

The more that time goes by, the more Kyungsoo feels secure in what he has with Jongdae. Sure, they’re not officially in a relationship, but Kyungsoo knows Jongdae likes him and Jongdae doesn’t leave much room for doubt with the way he acts with Kyungsoo.

It helps now that Chanyeol knows too, he actually has someone to talk about his feelings and thoughts with now whenever the idea of never getting to call Jongdae his gets too much. Chanyeol seems to understand most of the time, and when he doesn’t he’s still happy to listen to Kyungsoo rant.

Some rare days, Kyungsoo goes over to Jongdae and Baekhyun’s flat, when Jongdae wants his company but Baekhyun is moping so much that he can’t bear to leave him in the house alone. Today is one of these days, and in Kyungsoo’s lecture, he’d received a text asking him to come over after class, followed by a text telling him to bring coffee.

Kyungsoo is currently on his way to Jongdae’s flat, a cardboard cup holder with three coffee’s in hand. He’d had a lovely chat with Sehun whilst waiting for his coffee to be made, telling the younger something stupid Chanyeol did a couple of months ago and smiling fondly at Sehun’s laughter.

The walk to their flat doesn’t take too long from the cafe and soon Kyungsoo’s heading up the stairs, careful not to jostle the coffee’s too much when he knocks on the door to their flat. The door swings open and he’s met by Jongdae, a soft smile appearing on his face the moment he sees Kyungsoo. Jongdae pulls him closer for a quick kiss before ushering him in, shutting the door behind him.

Placing the coffee’s on the kitchen counter, he passes one to Jongdae as he says, “You owe me if you’re going to keep asking me to get coffee.”

Jongdae takes the coffee as he teasingly replies, “I don’t ask you to get the nice stuff.”

“If I’m going to be buying coffee, then I’ll get the nice stuff. Still, you owe me.”

Jongdae crowds into Kyungsoo’s space, eyes flicking down to Kyungsoo’s lips as he mumbles, “Will a kiss make up for it?”

Rolling his eyes, Kyungsoo says, “You can’t always use kissing as a solution Dae.”

Smirking, Jongdae mumbles, “Watch me”, before leaning in to kiss Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo’s back pressing against the counter.

He leans back after a few moments, his free hand on Kyungsoo’s waist as he says, “Do I still owe you?”

Kyungsoo’s about to respond when he hears footsteps followed by Baekhyun’s voice saying, “Gross, do you guys ever chill on the PDA?”

Jongdae chuckles, moving away from Kyungsoo as he says, “It wasn’t PDA until you came into the room.” 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, moving over to the last coffee on the counter as he asks, “Is this mine?”

Kyungsoo nods, smiling slightly as he says, “Yeah, I figured you might want one.”

Baekhyun smiles back at him, although it doesn’t quite reach his eyes, reaching out to pat Kyungsoo’s arm as he replies, “Thank you, I could always do with a coffee.”

The three of them all take sips of their drinks before Baekhyun starts to move back out of the kitchen, calling out, “I’ll leave you two lovebirds be, I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”

Kyungsoo tries to ignore the warmth in his cheeks, maybe then he can pretend he’s not blushing. It’s difficult to do so though when Jongdae’s smirking at him as if he knows what’s going on in Kyungsoo’s head. Kyungsoo shakes his head in exasperation, attempting to change the topic when he says, “So, are we going to stand in the kitchen all day?”

Jongdae grins cheekily, starting to walk out of the kitchen with Kyungsoo following as he says, “Where do you want to go? The living room? Or, maybe you’d prefer the bedroom?”

Kyungsoo lightly shoves Jongdae, not enough to affect the coffee in his hands, and sarcastically says, “Yeah, great idea, let’s go fuck whilst your best friend is home.”

Chuckling, Jongdae heads over to the couch as he laughs out, “Living room it is”, patting the spot next to him when he sits down. Kyungsoo drops onto the couch next to him, curling up into his side when Jongdae drapes an arm around his shoulder.

They comfortably sit in silence for a while, drinking their coffee’s and just enjoying each other’s warmth. Eventually, they start chatting about their days, the conversation flowing easily between them.

Kyungsoo’s telling Jongdae about the time Chanyeol took Sehun for ice cream and rambling on about how adorable Chanyeol had made it seem when he was telling Kyungsoo over the phone. He ignores Jongdae’s pouting until the story is over, tapping Jongdae’s nose with his finger as he says, “Why are you pouting?”

Jongdae’s voice comes out whiney when he says, “You always talk about them being adorable, aren’t we adorable?”

Kyungsoo chuckles, pressing a kiss to Jongdae’s lips before responding, “Of course we are, but you know we’ll never be a power couple like Chanyeol and Sehun.”

Before Jongdae can respond, Baekhyun’s voice rings out loud and harsh as he says, “What did you say?”, loudly shutting his bedroom door behind him.

Kyungsoo feels like a deer caught in headlights under Baekhyun’s stare, voice coming out weak when he stutters out, “I - I uh - I said that -”

He’s cut off before he can finish, Baekhyun’s eyes focusing on Jongdae as he says, “Chanyeol and Sehun are a couple?”

Jongdae barely says, “Yes Baek”, before Baekhyun’s stalking off to the front door, body tense as he shoves on his shoes.

Jongdae rushes over to Baekhyun instantly, voice a forced calm when he asks, “Baekhyun, where are you going?”

Baekhyun spins to face Jongdae, face a mix of hurt and anger as he blurts out, “I’m going to the cafe, I need to show Sehun what he’s done wrong.”

Jongdae grabs onto Baekhyun’s arm, pulling him closer as he says, “No, I’m not letting you go anywhere in this state.”

Kyungsoo feels frozen on the spot, unsure what to do until Baekhyun starts shouting, struggling against the hold Jongdae has on him. Kyungsoo feels panic flow through him as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, quickly dialling Chanyeol’s number.

The moment Chanyeol picks up, Kyungsoo blurts out, “Chanyeol, we have a problem!”, the mention of Chanyeol causing Baekhyun to get angrier.

Kyungsoo can almost hear the frown in Chanyeol’s voice when he says, “What? What’s wrong?”

For a moment, Kyungsoo can’t say anything, all attention fixed on Baekhyun’s screaming and how broken he sounds. He pulls himself back together though, speaking quickly as he responds, “Baekhyun overheard Jongdae and I talking about you and Sehun, he’s not happy at all. He wants to go to the cafe right now, you have to go to Sehun.”

There’s a forced tone to Chanyeol’s voice when he says, “Baekhyun wouldn’t hurt a fly, I don’t even see why he’d be unhappy.”

Keeping an eye on Baekhyun getting more and more distressed, Kyungsoo sighs exasperatedly and replies, “Jongdae is literally restraining Baekhyun right now to stop Baekhyun from going to punch Sehun. He’s screaming bloody murder about Sehun. You have to go warn Sehun, I know he’s working right now.”

Kyungsoo barely registers Chanyeol’s response of, “I can be at the cafe in 15 minutes, see how long you can stall Baekhyun”, as he watches Jongdae struggle to stop Baekhyun from leaving. He only realises Chanyeol has hung up after a few minutes, dropping his phone onto the couch as he stands. 

He’s unsure what to do, not knowing Baekhyun well enough to know if him getting involved will make it worse. He uselessly hovers in the middle of the room as he hears Jongdae say, “Baekhyun, you’re going to regret it if you leave right now.”

The anger in Baekhyun’s tone shocks Kyungsoo as he struggles again whilst saying, “I don’t fucking care Jongdae, I’m not letting anyone use Chanyeol. Let me fucking go.”

Jongdae tightens his grip around Baekhyun again as he says, “No, I’m not going to.”

Time seems to slow for Kyungsoo as Baekhyun struggles again, arms flying out as he yells, “Let go of me!”

Then time speeds up and Baekhyun’s hand hits Jongdae’s face in the struggle, Jongdae letting go and stumbling backwards in surprise. Baekhyun stares at his own hand in shock before his gaze lifts to Jongdae, the latter holding his cheek as a whimper escapes his throat. Baekhyun tenses again, shoving his hand through his hair as he mumbles out, “Sorry Jongdae, I have to - I have to go”, turning away quickly and leaving the flat.

The moment the door slams shut, Kyungsoo comes to his senses, rushing over to Jongdae as he says, “Shit, Dae are you okay?”

Jongdae looks dazed, letting Kyungsoo take his hand away from his cheek as he stutters out, “I - I don’t know.”

Wrapping an arm around Jongdae’s waist, Kyungsoo starts to lead him to the kitchen as he softly says, “Come on, let’s get some ice on that cheek.”

The movement seems to bring Jongdae back to his senses, pulling away from Kyungsoo as he heads over to his shoes by the front door, rambling out, “I have to go, Baekhyun needs me.”

Kyungsoo moves over to Jongdae’s side, voice worried as he responds, “But Jongdae, you’re hurt”, already knowing Jongdae won’t listen.

Jongdae finishes putting on his shoes, turning to Kyungsoo as he quickly says, “I’ll be fine, he needs me. Stay here, I’ll be back soon.”

Kyungsoo barely feels the light kiss on his forehead before Jongdae’s rushing out the door, leaving Kyungsoo in the silent flat. He spends a few seconds shocked before realising he should message Chanyeol, rushing over to his phone to let him know Baekhyun’s on his way. He drops down to the couch again after doing so, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth until he can taste blood and forces himself to stop.

It’s around an hour later when there’s a knock on the door, Kyungsoo flying to his feet at the sound. He rushes over to the door, flinging it open to reveal Jongdae with a broken looking Baekhyun held close to his side. Kyungsoo steps aside, ushering them in before heading into the kitchen to see if he can find hot chocolate to make Baekhyun. 

As he makes the hot chocolate, he can hear Baekhyun sobbing from the living room, Jongdae’s soft comforting following after. It reminds Kyungsoo so much of the evening Baekhyun had rejected Chanyeol and if he didn’t think so before, then he’s certain now that Baekhyun’s in love with Chanyeol.

With the hot chocolate made, he rummages through the freezer until he finds a bag of frozen peas, wrapping it in a tea towel and carrying it into the living room along with the hot chocolate. He places the bag on the coffee table before squatting down in front of Baekhyun and Jongdae.

His voice is soft as he says, “Baekhyun, I made hot chocolate for you.”

Baekhyun’s thank you comes out in a mess of stuttering and sobs as he lets Kyungsoo press the hot chocolate into his hands. He attempts to take a sip, letting Jongdae hold his hands steady when he proves to be too shaky to do so.

Kyungsoo stands again, picking up the wrapped up bag before making his way behind the couch. One of his hands drops to Jongdae’s shoulder, gently massaging it whilst the other places the bag against his now red cheek, mumbling an apology when Jongdae hisses at the feeling. He stands there for about 10 minutes, holding the bag in place whilst Jongdae comforts Baekhyun, the latter slowly beginning to calm down.

Eventually, Baekhyun finishes his hot chocolate, softly mumbling, “I’m tired now”, as he places the mug on the coffee table.

Kyungsoo moves the bag away, allowing Jongdae to stand. Jongdae holds a hand out to Baekhyun, lifting him up to standing as he says, “Come on, I’ll tuck you in bed.”

Kyungsoo watches them walk away with a sad, soft smile, waiting until they enter Baekhyun’s bedroom before grabbing the mug and heading into the kitchen. He unwraps the bag of frozen peas from the tea towel and places it back in the freezer, hooking the tea towel on the handle of a drawer to let it dry out. He starts washing the mug to give him something to do, he’s always been the type to keep himself busy when he’s worried or upset.

He’s just tidying up around the kitchen when arms wrap around his waist and Jongdae’s soft voice drifts into his ear saying, “Thanks for doing that, he’s asleep now.”

Kyungsoo twists in Jongdae’s arms till he’s facing him, eyes studying his cheek as he mumbles, “That’s going to bruise.”

Jongdae shrugs, rubbing circles into Kyungsoo’s back as he says, “I don’t care, it was an accident anyway. I’ll still be pretty, right?”

Kyungsoo chuckles softly, nodding as he responds, “You’re always pretty.”

Jongdae leans in to kiss Kyungsoo, tightening his hold on the slightly smaller man as if he’s afraid to let him go.

When they pull away, Kyungsoo smiles fondly and says, “I should go, your best friend needs you, and mine might need me.”

Jongdae seems reluctant to let go but he does so, trailing after Kyungsoo as he heads to put his shoes on. Once the door is open, Jongdae tugs Kyungsoo into another kiss before saying, “Thank you for always being here when I need you.”

Kyungsoo smiles, softly saying, “Of course. Let me know if you or Baekhyun need anything”, before heading out the door and walking down the stairs.

He fills the walk home with attempting to call Chanyeol a few times before settling on sending a text, spending the rest of the walk home caught up in his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to talk to me then feel free to hmu on Tumblr @soft-jihoonie or twitter @pcy_hoe


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll explain why it was such a long wait at the end of the chapter! Hope you enjoy this new chapter!!

The next week proves to be hard on Jongdae from what little Kyungsoo knows through their texts, phone calls, and their usual meet up for coffee. So, he’s not surprised when he leaves his lecture on Friday to find Jongdae looking down, the hood of his jacket up to hide the fading bruise on his cheek.

Saying goodbye to Mingyu and Wonwoo (the two of them had finally started chatting thanks to a little persuasion from Kyungsoo), he makes his way over to Jongdae. He places a hand on Jongdae’s lower back, lightly adding pressure to lead Jongdae out of the university, Jongdae leaning slightly into Kyungsoo’s side. He does most of the talking on the way home, Jongdae only adding little comments and reacting accordingly to show he’s listening. 

By the time they’re back at the house, Kyungsoo has Jongdae curled up in a blanket on the couch and presses a kiss to the top of his head before going to make him a cup of tea. Once he returns with it, he slides under the blanket next to Jongdae, passing him the tea as he says, “Bad day baby?”

Jongdae nods, sipping his tea before mumbling, “Bad week actually, I’m just exhausted.”

Kyungsoo hums softly in response, running a hand through Jongdae’s hair as he says, “How’s Baekhyun? Left his room yet?”

Jongdae leans his head back into Kyungsoo’s hand, breathing deeply before responding, “He’s doing better, I couldn’t leave him alone the first few days but he can be alone now. He keeps looking guilty whenever he sees my cheek though.”

Kyungsoo smiles, ghosting a finger over Jongdae’s bruised cheek as he says, “I think the bruise looks pretty, it’s like art.”

Jongdae huffs out a laugh, shaking his head as he says, “You can’t repeat my own words about hickeys to me.”

Kyungsoo smirks, pulling at a strand of Jongdae’s hair lightly whilst saying, “Watch me.”

Jongdae smiles, sipping his drink again before responding, “It’s just sort of hard helping Baekhyun when I’m already struggling daily because of my dad. I don’t mind helping Baekhyun, but all of it takes a lot out of me, it’s hard always acting like upbeat Jongdae.”

Kyungsoo reaches for Jongdae’s chin, gently turning his head to face him as he says, “You never have to act upbeat around me if you’re down, you know that right?”

Jongdae nods, smiling gently as he leans forward to kiss Kyungsoo softly before pulling back. He sips his tea again, sighing softly after swallowing.

Kyungsoo frowns slightly, brushing Jongdae’s hair out of his eyes as he asks, “There’s something else, isn’t there? What’s wrong babe?”

Jongdae diverts his gaze to his lap as he mumbles, “I’ve just been thinking this week... Chanyeol’s going to be home soon and I just - I’m worried it’ll change things.”

Kyungsoo relaxes slightly, running his hand through Jongdae’s hair again as he says, “Like what?”

Jongdae looks so unsure of himself, voice quiet as he says, “Like I’ll have to stop coming here on Fridays, and that I can’t just come and see you when I need you.”

Kyungsoo softens, voice gentle as he says, “Dae, hey, look at me.” Jongdae slowly lifts his gaze up to meet Kyungsoo’s, looking the most vulnerable Kyungsoo’s seen him so far. Kyungsoo leans forward to press a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead, leaning back and saying, “Chanyeol coming home will change absolutely nothing between us, I promise. You can come here whenever.”

Jongdae still seems unsure, leaning over to place his mug on the coffee table as he responds, “But what if Chanyeol gets annoyed with me being around?”

Kyungsoo chuckles, taking Jongdae’s now free hand in his as he says, “The only time Chanyeol finds you annoying is when you're flirting with Baekhyun."

Jongdae’s eyes widen, his jaw dropping slightly before he exclaims, “I do not flirt with Baekhyun!”

“And my name isn't Do Kyungsoo. Don't kid yourself, Dae."

Jongdae whines in response to Kyungsoo’s amusement before his curiosity gets the best of him and he asks, “Wait, are you saying Chanyeol’s been jealous because of me?”

Unable to hide the amusement in his tone, Kyungsoo responds, “So many times”, with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

Jongdae laughs, a bewildered expression on his face as he exclaims, “That's ridiculous."

Shaking his head amusedly, Kyungsoo sighs and replies, “Is it? Half the campus used to think you and Baek were dating."

Jongdae’s hands fly up, voice raising in denial as he says, “What? That is absolutely ridiculous!”

“Hardly. I didn't particularly care back then but I thought you two were dating too. Chanyeol whined a lot about it."

Jongdae rolls his eyes as he replies, “You as well? Soo, clearly Baek is not my type."

Kyungsoo smirks, poking at Jongdae’s chest as he says, “Okay, so what is your type?”

He regrets asking the question the moment Jongdae smirks, tone teasing when he responds, “Hot guys.”

Deciding to play along, Kyungsoo huffs out a laugh and says, “Baekhyun is literally a hot guy.”

Jongdae laughs sarcastically before replying, “Sorry, let me be more specific. Hot guys who are also sort of soft, and stubborn, and don't give in to being flirted with easily.”

Kyungsoo can feel his cheeks pinking as he dips his head, chuckling out, “Shut up, Dae.”

Jongdae laughs, pressing a kiss the top of Kyungsoo’s head before teasingly saying, “That could be a lot of guys.”

“Oh yes, of course. Forgive me."

Jongdae smirks, teasingly saying, “You are forgiven.” When Kyungsoo shoves his shoulder gently, Jongdae laughs and changes the topic, asking, “What about you? What's your type?”

Kyungsoo shrugs, thinking for a moment before responding, “I don't know, I've never really thought about it. I guess I like extroverted people, they balance out how introverted I am.”

Jongdae smirks again and Kyungsoo sighs, eyes rolling as Jongdae says, “Baekhyun’s extroverted."

"Dae, I am definitely not into Baekhyun."

Jongdae laughs, a faux-serious expression on his face as he says, “I’ll be sure to tell him that, I’m 100% certain he’ll be very disappointed.”

Kyungsoo laughs, shoving Jongdae away again. Jongdae pulls Kyungsoo into his arms though, kissing him before murmuring against his lips, “You’re my type.”

Kyungsoo can’t help the grin on his lips, resting his forehead against Jongdae’s as he chuckles and softly says, “And you’re mine.”

They stay like that for a moment before Jongdae smirks and says, “It’d be a bit awkward if I wasn’t.”

Kyungsoo laughs, shoving him away again as he says, “God, shut up Jongdae, this is why I say we’re not romantic.”

Jongdae just chuckles, pulling Kyungsoo into his lap as he says, “Yet you laugh at all my jokes, even when we’re having a moment.”

Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes, letting himself be moved around until he’s cuddling with Jongdae. Jongdae presses a kiss to the top of his head with a mumble of, “Thank you for always cheering me up.”

Kyungsoo just smiles softly in response, cuddling more into Jongdae’s warmth as Jongdae starts playing with his hair, humming a song softly.

 

* * *

Admittedly, Kyungsoo had been a little worried about how things would be when Chanyeol moved home, but aside from the week or two Chanyeol spends putting off seeing Baekhyun, everything goes fine. Jongdae and Chanyeol get along great, and Jongdae doesn’t seem to mind Chanyeol joining in with their Friday hangouts as long as he and Kyungsoo get to spend the night in bed alone together, even if it’s just cuddling.

Things get a little easier once Baekhyun and Chanyeol talk again, the two of them now inseparable, and Jongdae and Kyungsoo find themselves a lot less stressed. That is until exam season starts and their hangout sessions either turn into revising together or napping together, the latter their preferred option. Chanyeol and Baekhyun seem to be having an easier time, Chanyeol having no exams so he commits himself to help in reducing Baekhyun’s stress.

Jongdae has his first exam today and, considering how stressed and nervous he is about it, Kyungsoo’s walking him to it. The plan is that Kyungsoo will go revise in the library in the meantime, able to come and meet Jongdae after his exam if Jongdae wants that.

Kyungsoo’s listening to Jongdae ramble about the exam, allowing him to get all his nervous energy out as they walk. When they reach the lecture hall the exam is being held in, Jongdae turns to face Kyungsoo and breathes out, “Oh God, I have to go in.”

Kyungsoo smiles, patting Jongdae’s arm as he says, “You’ll do fine, I believe in you.”

Jongdae smiles nervously, nodding as he distractedly responds, “Thank you.”

Kyungsoo’s not sure what possesses him, maybe after being all cuddly in front of Baekhyun and Chanyeol he just forgets that his thing with Jongdae isn’t public. He starts to lean in, inches away from kissing Jongdae when Jongdae grips his arm, hissing out, “What are you doing? Someone could see us!” His head whips around to check no one’s seen and there’s a worried expression on his face.

Kyungsoo steps back startled, sort of wanting to cry. Instead, he forces himself to say, “Sorry, I forgot for a moment, you know how tired I am. Good luck for your exam.”

Jongdae nods, still checking to see if anyone’s seen them as he steps into the lecture hall. The moment his back is turned, Kyungsoo fast walks away, forgetting all plans to revise as his feet start to carry him home.

He’s just so angry with himself, mostly for messing up when Jongdae was already so stressed, but also for letting himself get swept up in the illusion that they’re actually a couple, not some secret. By the time he gets home he’s shaking, stalking past Chanyeol and Baekhyun on the couch as he heads to the kitchen. 

He paces the kitchen, hands clenched in tight fists, and he tenses further when Chanyeol calls out, “Kyungsoo? Are you okay?”

Kyungsoo just about manages to grit out, “Never been better”, his voice sounding bitter and unlike his own.

He can’t hear their words but he knows Chanyeol and Baekhyun are having a hushed conversation as he moves over to a counter, gripping onto the edge tightly. He hears snippets of the conversation, things like “I should go”, “I love you”, and “Text me when you’re home.”

He finds himself wishing he could be as open as that with Jongdae and then immediately hates himself for being so selfish. Five minutes pass as he seethes alone in the kitchen before he hears footsteps approaching, Chanyeol’s tone gentle as he says, “Soo, what’s wrong?”

Kyungsoo’s expecting to start yelling, so angry at himself, but the moment he turns to face Chanyeol, he bursts into tears. He chokes on a sob and Chanyeol rushes over to him, pulling him into a tight hug as he mumbles, “You’re okay, I’ve got you.”

Kyungsoo lets Chanyeol lead him into the living room, curling up in the taller man's arms once they’re seated on the couch and trying to force himself to calm down. Eventually, he calms himself down enough to explain to Chanyeol why he’s upset, the tears not stopping but his sobs turning into sniffles. Chanyeol listens intently, wiping away Kyungsoo’s never-ending tears, his expression hardening the more he listens to Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo can’t really stop himself, all his feelings and insecurities about what he has with Jongdae tumbling out in one long ramble that has him hating himself even more.

Eventually he stops, breathing deeply and leaning into Chanyeol’s arms as he mumbles, “Please say something, Yeol.”

Chanyeol’s hand comes up to run through Kyungsoo’s hair as he sighs, voice gentle when he says, “Soo, I know you probably can’t see this but... this doesn’t seem healthy for you. You want more than he can give you right now, and it’s hurting you to stay with him in the way you are right now.”

Kyungsoo tenses at this, voice sharp as he pulls away from Chanyeol and says, “There’s nothing unhealthy about it!”

Chanyeol softens, reaching out for Kyungsoo to hug him again, Kyungsoo hesitating but giving in after a moment. Rubbing his hand up and down Kyungsoo’s back, Chanyeol softly says, “Hey, just remember I care about you, you know I hate seeing you hurt.” When Kyungsoo nods slightly, Chanyeol continues, “You’ve got such a strong emotional connection with him now, but he’s not ready to let people know you’re together at the moment. I know how much that affects you, I’m just saying you should consider stopping what you have before either of you get hurt more.”

Kyungsoo feels himself start to tear up again as he whimpers out, “I can’t leave him right now and be selfish. He needs me, that’s all that matters.”

Chanyeol sighs but still tightens his arms around Kyungsoo, gently saying, “Do Kyungsoo, your heart is too big. If this is what you’ve decided though, then I’ll always be by your side. Anytime it hurts too much, you can come to me to rant or cry or even use me as a punching bag.”

Kyungsoo chuckles slightly, leaning back from Chanyeol and wiping his cheeks as he responds, “But you have your own problems to deal with.”

Chanyeol grins, ruffling a hand through Kyungsoo’s already messy hair as he says, “For once, I do not have any of my own problems to deal with, so you’re going to have to put up with me being a supportive best friend.”

Kyungsoo smiles slightly as he says, “That sounds awful”, chuckling when Chanyeol picks a pillow and fakes a hit at him with it.

Chanyeol insists they watch a film, ignoring Kyungsoo’s protests that he needs to revise as he tucks him under a blanket on the couch, putting on a Studio Ghibli film. It’s about 20 minutes into the film when Kyungsoo gets a text from Jongdae saying, ‘The exam seemed to go well!! i’m sure I got a B at least’

Kyungsoo types out, ‘That’s great babe, I’m so proud of you’, but catches himself and deletes the text before he can accidentally send it. He then types out, ‘Well done! I knew you’d do great!’, and hits send, ignoring the look Chanyeol shoots him as he turns his attention back to the film.

It only takes 10 minutes to fully ignore the tightness in his chest from having to hold back on being quite so couple-y with Jongdae. He just hopes that Jongdae doesn’t notice a change.

 

* * *

Kyungsoo doesn’t exactly pull away from Jongdae, but he definitely reminds himself more often that what he has with Jongdae isn’t a real relationship. He doesn’t want to fall under the illusion again, so determined to protect his own heart for the time when he inevitably messes up again and Jongdae decides he’s had enough. 

He finds he’s maybe a bit less affectionate with Jongdae but he’s still clearly smitten for him so Jongdae doesn’t seem to notice much difference, probably just putting it down to exam stress. Kyungsoo finishes his exams before Jongdae. Chanyeol warns him it’s probably not a good idea to get so involved, but Kyungsoo dedicates himself to making sure Jongdae’s last few exams go by without too much stress, anyway.

On the day Baekhyun and Jongdae have their last exams, the four of them make plans to have a pizza and movie night at Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s house. Baekhyun’s the first to arrive, having had an earlier exam than Jongdae. When the doorbell rings, Chanyeol visibly brightens, rushing to the door as Kyungsoo chuckles at how cute it is.

He’s admittedly quite envious of Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s relationship and how open they can be about the fact they’re seeing each other, even though they haven’t officially said they’re a couple yet. Regardless of the fact that they haven’t sorted their situation out fully, the two of them are never holding back from being affectionate in public. In fact, Kyungsoo knows there have been multiple times where Baekhyun has told people that have flirted with him that he’s currently taken, Chanyeol had come home incredibly happy about the fact. Kyungsoo really is so happy for them, it just cuts too deep into his own insecurities sometimes, selfish feelings taking over.

He’s brought out of his thoughts when he hears Baekhyun say, “Calm down, you’re like an overexcited puppy”, as Chanyeol clings onto him whilst they head into the living room.

Chanyeol scoffs as they drop down onto the couch, rolling his eyes as he says, “Sorry for being excited about seeing my boyfriend.”

The word sends a shock through Kyungsoo, mouth hanging open before he says, “Boyfriend? When did this happen?”

Chanyeol smiles softly at Baekhyun as he replies, “A couple of days ago.”

Kyungsoo frowns slightly as he says, “And you didn’t tell me?” Chanyeol usually never keeps things from him.

Chanyeol shrugs as he responds, “You were busy helping Jongdae with revising, I figured it wasn’t that important to you.”

Kyungsoo pouts as he looks at Baekhyun and asks, “Does Jongdae know?”

Baekhyun grins at Kyungsoo pouting before responding, “Yeah, I told him as soon as he got home that day. I told Chanyeol he should have told you earlier.”

Kyungsoo shoots a playful glare at Chanyeol as he says, “Baekhyun’s my favourite now.”

Baekhyun grins tugging Kyungsoo into a hug as he laughs out, “I’ll be sure to tell Jongdae that!”

Kyungsoo chuckles, prying Baekhyun off him as he leans back into the couch. He mutters out to himself, “I doubt he’d care”, ignoring the confused look Baekhyun shoots his way as he raises his voice to a normal tone and asks, “So, what movies are we watching?”

Chanyeol catches on quickly to the topic change, tugging Baekhyun into his side as he says, “As long it’s nothing sad then I’m fine with whatever.”

Baekhyun perks up, exclaiming, “I vote horror films!”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as he says, “You know Chanyeol and Jongdae can’t handle horror films.”

Baekhyun grins mischievously, winking at Kyungsoo as he replies, “Exactly.”

Kyungsoo starts laughing, giggling more when Chanyeol starts whining and Baekhyun says, “Shut up you big baby.”

Kyungsoo listens to them playfully bickering, eventually joining in with teasing Chanyeol much to Baekhyun’s delight. They only stop when the doorbell rings, Baekhyun smirking at Kyungsoo as he says, “You better go let lover boy in.”

Kyungsoo flips him off but still stands and heads out into the hallway. He opens the front door to a grinning Jongdae, his mouth involuntarily tugging into a smile of his own. Jongdae steps inside, shutting the door before pressing a light kiss to Kyungsoo’s lips. 

Kyungsoo smiles, wrapping his arms around Jongdae’s waist as he asks, “How was the exam?”

Jongdae leans into his touch, grinning as he says, “It went fine I think, I’m just glad they’re all finally over.”

Kyungsoo leans up to press another kiss to Jongdae’s lips, mumbling, “I’m proud of you”, against them. Jongdae just smiles, kissing him back before tugging Kyungsoo through to the living room.

Baekhyun grins at Jongdae, tugging his best friend down next to him as he says, “You guys are so soppy, you’re worse than me and Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo ignores the tight feeling in his chest, dropping down into an armchair as he chuckles out, “I disagree, I’ve heard you and Chanyeol when you’re saying goodbye to each other, it makes me want to gag.”

Chanyeol and Baekhyun chuckle but Jongdae frowns at Kyungsoo and says, “Why are you sitting over there? Come here.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, gesturing at the couch as he says, “There’s barely enough space to fit the three of you on the couch, Dae.”

Jongdae pouts, voice whiney as he responds, “There’s space on my lap.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head, settling further into the armchair whilst he replies, “I’m not sitting on your lap.”

Jongdae pouts more, pulling out the puppy dog eyes as he whines out, “Please Soo.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but he can’t stop himself from standing and moving closer, allowing Jongdae to tug him down onto his lap. He settles back against Jongdae’s chest as Jongdae wraps his arms tightly around Kyungsoo’s waist.

Chanyeol rolls his eyes at the two of them and scoffs out, “Kyungsoo, you’re so whipped.”

Before Kyungsoo can reply, Baekhyun’s pushes at his boyfriend's chest and says, “Shut up, they’re cute. Why aren’t you like that with me?”

As the two of them fall back into playful bickering, Jongdae presses a light kiss to Kyungsoo’s neck and mumbles, “He’s right, we’re cute.”

Kyungsoo just laughs lightly before saying, “We’re watching horror films by the way.”

Jongdae’s whining is enough to stop Chanyeol and Baekhyun bickering, Baekhyun giggling at Jongdae before turning on the tv to start scrolling through Netflix for a good horror film. They decide on a fairly scary one, ordering pizza before pressing play on the film. Jongdae and Chanyeol both spend the film hiding their faces behind Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, jumping when the doorbell rings, Jongdae letting out a quiet yelp.

Kyungsoo attempts to stand to answer the door but Jongdae tightens his grip and mumbles, “Nope, you’re not leaving me.”

Kyungsoo shoots Baekhyun an exasperated look and Baekhyun chuckles, kissing Chanyeol before standing and saying, “I’ll get it. Jongdae, you’re a literal child.”

Jongdae whines in protest but he’s still refusing to look at the screen that’s paused on an eerie looking scene. Chanyeol shuffles slightly closer to them, leaning into the touch when Kyungsoo ruffles a hand through his hair and says, “It’s not real, Yeol.”

Chanyeol adamantly whines out, “I know that”, but he doesn’t protest when Kyungsoo coos at him, Jongdae whining slightly at the lack of attention Kyungsoo’s giving him.

Baekhyun returns with the pizza and Kyungsoo breathes out, “Oh thank God, you have to help me with these children.”

Baekhyun laughs, placing the pizza boxes on the coffee table before dropping onto the couch. He tugs Chanyeol into his side and says, “Are you really that scared babe?”

Chanyeol shakes his head no but he still shuffles closer to Baekhyun, clinging onto his arm until Baekhyun shakes him off and says, “Let’s eat pizza, okay?”

Kyungsoo moves off Jongdae’s lap whilst they eat, sitting on the floor between Jongdae’s leg after Jongdae whines that he’s not allowed to leave him. Eventually, they turn the film back on and Jongdae tugs Kyungsoo back up to his lap, clinging onto him tightly whenever there’s a jump scare. 

After the second horror film ends, Baekhyun turns to Kyungsoo and says, “I don’t know about you but I’m going to take my baby of a boyfriend up to bed.”

Kyungsoo laughs, prying Jongdae’s arms off his waist as he replies, “Sounds like a plan.”

Baekhyun stands, pulling Chanyeol up with him and chuckling when Chanyeol instantly latches himself to his side. Baekhyun stops to switch off the tv, calling out goodnight to the two of them before dragging Chanyeol out of the room, grumbling to him about how he really needs to get a double bed already.

Kyungsoo pulls himself off Jongdae’s lap, turning to look down at him as he asks, “Are you gonna be okay if I leave you for a moment whilst I clear away the pizza boxes?”

Jongdae stands quickly, grabbing a pizza box as he says, “I’ll help you!”

Kyungsoo chuckles, grabbing the other box as he teasingly says, “Great, now I know I have to scare you to stop you from being lazy.”

Jongdae follows Kyungsoo, mumbling out, “Don’t you dare”, as they shove the pizza boxes into the recycling bin.

Kyungsoo laughs softly, turning to Jongdae and pulling him into a kiss, leaning back and saying, “Of course I won’t. Let’s go to bed.”

Jongdae nods, gripping onto Kyungsoo’s hand to drag him out of the room, reluctant to stop when Kyungsoo says he has to turn off the lights in the kitchen and living room. Eventually, they manage to finish getting ready for bed, Jongdae insisting Kyungsoo couldn’t leave him alone because the house is clearly haunted. 

Jongdae’s curled up with his head on Kyungsoo’s chest, Kyungsoo playing with his hair as he hums softly. Jongdae shuffles a little before saying, “Kyungsoo?”

“Yeah Dae?”

Jongdae sounds apprehensive as he says, “I have a request. You can say no and I’ll understand, but it’d mean a lot if you said yes...”

Realising Jongdae needs a push to continue, Kyungsoo hums softly and says, “Go ahead, babe.”

Tightening his grip on Kyungsoo’s shirt, Jongdae says, “So I’m going to visit my family on Monday, it’ll be an overnight thing, I’ll probably head back here on Tuesday. I just, I really want my dad to think I’m happy and I figured if he thought I had someone supporting me then he’d feel a lot more at ease. I - What I’m asking is, will you come and pretend to be my boyfriend? I figured it won’t be hard considering our current situation, but I understand if it would make you uncomfortable and I just... Please...”

Kyungsoo feels his heart break a little at the fact that Jongdae thinks he won’t do it, pressing a kiss to the top of Jongdae’s head before saying, “If it’s for your dad then I'll do it.”

Jongdae buries his face into Kyungsoo’s chest, voice coming out muffled as he says, “I also sort of don't want to be alone when I see him.”

Kyungsoo softens, taking Jongdae’s hand on his chest in his and pressing a kiss to their intertwined fingers before saying, “Of course I'll come, I told you I'd always be here for you, didn't I?”

Jongdae nods, moving so he can look at Kyungsoo, mumbling out, “Thank you.”

Kyungsoo smiles, pressing a kiss to Jongdae’s lips before saying, “Come on, let’s sleep babe, I’ll protect you from any monsters under the bed.”

Jongdae laughs softly, muttering, “You better”, before the two of them shuffle into a more comfortable sleeping position.

Jongdae falls asleep pretty quickly but Kyungsoo lays awake for a few minutes more, thoughts revolving around the fact that Jongdae’s going to introduce Kyungsoo to his family as his boyfriend. Warmth spreads through his chest but Kyungsoo quickly stamps it down, reminding himself that it’s all pretend for Jongdae’s dad and that what’s important is Jongdae’s dad thinking Jongdae will have someone there when he passes away. 

Jongdae sniffles in his sleep, moving closer to Kyungsoo’s warmth and Kyungsoo smiles fondly, pressing a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead before trying to fall asleep too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry for that. Basically, I started to catch up to myself and had to write more in order to post a chapter. However, second year of university has been crazy and I've had no time to write at all. I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and after the start of May I'm done with uni until September so I'll have time to get back into writing!!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's left lovely comments so far, I really appreciate how understanding you've all been!
> 
> If you want to talk to me then feel free to hmu on Tumblr @soft-jihoonie or twitter @pcy_hoe

**Author's Note:**

> I will also be posting this fic on my Tumblr @soft-jihoonie so if you see it there, it's not plagiarised. Feel free to also come talk to me on my Tumblr or on my twitter which is @pcy_hoe.
> 
> As always, a big thank you to Sarah (@ghstgrrl on here and @lovjeon on Tumblr) who always helps me when I have writers block and listens to me ramble about ideas for way too long, she's truly my guardian angel.


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